Blown Away
by Dejavued
Summary: Their secret destroyed everything. The truth hurts but it's bound to come out, twisting the lives of everyone in its path. AU fiction.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** The characters in my stories are completely made up characters and have temporally been given borrowed names for the sole purpose of satisfying the qualifications for posting on this fanfiction site. These stories are fiction and should be perceived as such. They in no way reflect the lives, beliefs or views of any persons living or dead and any similarities are coincidental. I am not affiliated with any company or professional wrestler in any way. No disrespect or copyright infringement intended. And if any of my favs happen upon my stories, I hope your not offended because this is not about you, it is about feedback on my story ideas. :) I love and respect what you do and I thank you for all the joy and entertainment over the years.

* * *

New story. First draft. This is going to be a high school/ growing up story. Enjoy. :D

* * *

Chapter 1

I rushed down the hall. It was the first day of school and it wasn't starting out as great as I had hoped. To make it worse, my last class was on the other side of the school! It was going to be a challenge to get to there on time from gym class without any unexpected obstacles. And that day I got cornered by two of the biggest bullies in the school. They stood in my way, shifting side to side, refusing to let me through. It was even more annoying than them knocking my books so hard that they slid half way down the hall. I swear I really thought people would have grown up. They were seniors for goodness sakes.

The tardy bell rang. I picked up the pace. Maybe if I wasn't too late, but I still had one more hallway to cross and a set of stairs to descend. Maybe the teacher would be lenient considering everyone had new schedules. I could hope, couldn't I? I took a moment to catch her breath before she pulled open the old wooden door.

"Tardiness is unacceptable!" The teacher spat before I had stepped inside. I lowered my head. I hated to be the center of attention and everyone's eyes were on me. I hugged my books tighter to my chest, knowing that at that moment every imperfection about myself could and would be noticed.

"Let's me see." The teacher held a spiral planner in her hand. "Hmmm. Two missing students and neither seem to be female. Are you a boy?" I'd heard Mrs. Fortner, the home economics teacher was tough. But I didn't believe it when I saw the little old lady the year before. She couldn't have been more than four and half foot tall and she looked like someone's sweet grandmother. "You don't talk either?"

I felt the heat rise to her cheeks. I had really looked forward to that class and I didn't get excited about much. Less than a minute in and it all changed. I felt so humiliated I wanted to cry. I dared to peek at the class room. Seven stations were crammed into that room. Three on each side. One behind a half partition in the far back. Four students stood in each and they were all staring at me like I was some exhibit in a zoo. I began to think about my hair. Too red and frizzed from lack of decent cleansing products. My makeup was too light, I had a hole in the knee of my jeans and my black hoodie was faded. I could have passed it off a few weeks in, but this was day one and everyone else looked like they stepped out of a magazine.

"Mullet." I heard someone pop off. Ugh! Here we go again. I'd hoped to leave that awful nickname behind. I heard a lot of snickers and giggles from my classmates. Many I'd known since kindergarten. I'd endured a lot of teasing in middle school about a chopped off haircut. Punishment for daring to have a crush on a boy and letting my father and stepmother find out about it. But that was years ago. I'd thought it had been forgotten, left to childhood.

Three stations away, I saw Seth and Rachel. They weren't laughing. I didn't think. Once, we had all been friends. Best friends. We had done everything together, but now they didn't speak to me. They ignored me. Hated me. And I wasn't sure why. Or maybe I did. I'd just thought they would be more sympathetic towards me about it.

"Speak up!" Mrs. Fortner snapped, rapping a rolling pin on her desk and making me jump. "Are you a boy?"

I shook my head, not raising my eyes from my stained old tennis shoes.

"Then who are you?"

I couldn't make myself talk. I was the quiet type and it was even worse when I was yelled at and this teacher was nearly screaming at me.

"Hmmm." She looked at the book. "Let's take a shot in the dark. Joey James? Is that you?"

I nodded, trying not to let the tears fall in front of the entire class.

"Oh, one of those." The teacher sneered. "A girl with a male name. Ridiculous. And I guess it's not short for anything is it?" I shook my head again. Mrs. Fortner made me feel like I should be ashamed of my own name. "Well – Joey. Late arrivals don't get to pick where they sit. You'll just have to be lucky there is still a spot for you at all. Join the last group. And hurry because you've wasted enough of our time."

I stepped down into the last station. It was different from the others, modeled around the old furnace that sat in the room. The class room was in the basement and I guessed using that room was cheaper than building a place to host the class that needed so much space. I'd heard about this station and how no one wanted to get stuck in it. It still had a donated stove while the others were fitted with new. No microwave and the smallest amount of space to move in. It was really rough to for four people to occupy, I'd heard. Looking around, I knew the rumors were true. There was barely four foot between each counter in the horseshoe shaped station.

I put my books down at the end of the counter. I couldn't see the teacher anymore and one look at my partners made me shudder. Roman and Chris. Two of the group of thugs that bullied me every day. Their buddies had cornered me in gym and had been the reason I'd shown up late.

Roman was tall medium sized kid with dark skin and hateful black eyes. Chris was shorter and rounder in the middle. He had a big nose and sniffed a lot, earning him the nick name Snort. Now I had to deal with them. The class took up both my afternoon classes and I knew I was going to have a hard time getting through it and probably passing it. They wouldn't do any of the work and I knew they would sabotage my work just to be mean or treat me like their slave, forcing me to do their parts. But at least I would only have to deal with them every other day thanks to the A-B class schedule the school supported.

"What's up, Mama?" Roman snickered.

I ignored him and went to sit on a stool. It was jerked away, thankfully before I had let my weight fall. Roman laughed and propped his feet up on it. I went for the other. Chris jumped from his seat, plopped in my path and put his feet up on the stool he'd carried with him. I was stuck standing between them. Trapped as they pushed and teased me.

"Are you boy, Joey?" Romano grabbed at my hoodie. I crossed my arms over my chest and held them tightly. "Let's see if you got anything under there."

"What happened to the short hair?" Snort jerked my ponytail. "Awe, she's trying to be pretty."

"Yeah right." Roman laughed. "Maybe if she put on some make up, but I bet she's too poor for that. Her daddy spends every dime on his liquor, doesn't he, Joey." They both spoke in lowered growls and stood, trapping me between their larger frames.

Roman traced a finger down my cheek. "Oh, she is wearing makeup."

"Now that's just sad." Snort cackled. "Just imagine how ugly she really is."

"Let's wash it off and see." Roman grabbed a cloth from the sink. It looked dirty and left behind by the class before. They brought it towards me. It smelled sour. I squirmed away, ducking out of their reach.

"Another one? I can't take these interruptions!" Mrs. Fortner rose her voice. "Detention!"

"I have a pass."

I felt my blood freeze. I knew that voice. Randy Orton and he was part of the group that was already tormenting me. There were six of them in the pack that were considered trouble in the halls and somedays I thought she was there favorite target.

"So, you got away with it this time. Last group! Hopefully your team mates have paid attention and you can figure out what we are doing from them. I will not repeat myself. That is something I will not be doing in this class. There's no time for it." Mrs. Fortner went on talking to the whole class then went back to her lesson.

Those words almost made me panic. I was lost. I had no idea what was going on thanks to the bullies in my group. Roman and Chris had me trapped between them behind the cover of the partition wall. They were back to their intimate abuse, intent on making me remove my jacket. They snatched at it from the bottom and I was really frightened. More than I had ever been before. I began to shake. Nothing they'd ever done had bothered me much before. It was just name calling, blocking my path or knocking my things from my hands, but this time I feared they meant to do real harm.

"Come on," Roman teased. "We know you're no virgin." They both snickered. "Show us some skin. There must be something decent under there."

Randy stepped into the recessed space and placed his books on the counter.

He stepped closer and I expected him to join in. I stared at him with big, terrified eyes. He was so much bigger than the other guys. So much stronger and all muscle. But worse, he was unpredictable.

"Hey buddy!" Roman grinned at his friend. "I never thought I would find a way to enjoy this class." He laughed. "Look what we got, dude. Entertainment." He shoved me into Snort who snatched my arms and held them behind my back. Romano jerked down the zipper of my jacket, exposing the spaghetti strap tank top I'd put on that day.

"Yeah, now I see how she got knocked up." He snarled. "She's got nice tits. Big ones. Randy loves big tits." then he shoved me into Randy. His expression was hard to read. His cheek muscles jumped as he hands landed on my bare shoulders. He didn't snatch or grab. He'd only caught me, but the touch still hurt. I stared up into his cold steel blue eyes, waiting for his reaction. He was the quiet one of the group. The one who sat back, watching, only stepping in if things got physical. My eyes filled with tears as I stared. There was a time when I had trusted him completely. A time when we were friends. But right then, he seemed to be a threat too and I couldn't find the strength or the words to offer the slightest defense.

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Please Review.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** The characters in my stories are completely made up characters and have temporally been given borrowed names for the sole purpose of satisfying the qualifications for posting on this fanfiction site. These stories are fiction and should be perceived as such. They in no way reflect the lives, beliefs or views of any persons living or dead and any similarities are coincidental. I am not affiliated with any company or professional wrestler in any way. No disrespect or copyright infringement intended. And if any of my favs happen upon my stories, I hope your not offended because this is not about you, it is about feedback on my story ideas. :) I love and respect what you do and I thank you for all the joy and entertainment over the years.

* * *

New story. First draft. This is going to be a high school/ growing up story. Enjoy. :D

* * *

Chapter 2

It hurt so much to see the fear in Joey's eyes. Not just fear – fear of me. I hadn't spoken to her in a long time. Not since ninth grade when she'd disappeared with no warning. She didn't show up at school and wasn't in town. No one knew what had happened to her. No one heard from her. It hurt. It hurt all of us. Then we found out during that summer where she had gone. Her stepmother spat it out to Rachel's mother at the grocery store and the news broke my heart. I was so angry at her that blurted out something that was supposed to be a secret. Its admission had caused all the things Joey and I always knew it would. And she'd left me to deal with it alone, giving me one more reason to be furious. When I saw her again, I couldn't even look at her.

Rachel wouldn't speak to me. It drove a wedge between me and my brother. We couldn't pass each other in the hall without it ending up in a brawl. My parents had to pry us apart and my poor mother – the chaos in our home broke her heart.

I took up with the tough guys at school because I needed a different circle, one that didn't go anywhere near Seth and Rachel, or to the places that reminded me of the good times. I wanted to be distant, cold and left the hell alone. At least that secret didn't leave our group. I think it would have been worse if they whole school knew. The information they had was bad enough.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Seth and Rachel. They could barely see what was going on from their station and they stared at me. I guess they wondered if I would join in on the bullying.

"What do you think, Randy?" Snort laughed. "Do you think she can cook?"

"Yeah, I think we're going to get some easy grades with her doing all our work for us?" Roman reached out and tugged Joey's hoodie off her shoulders. "We'll pretend she's our little wife." The laughter left his voice.

I was beginning to see the violent side of Roman. It wasn't just childish fun with him like the others. He was the real leader of the pack and whatever he had in mind, his little minions would follow. No matter how criminal it was. I didn't sign up for that. I'm not that kind of guy.

"It looks like she likes it rough." Roman stuck his hands on Joey, tracing the scar that cut diagonally across the back of her shoulders. I didn't like that.

I snatched Roman's hand, causing both boy's eyes to bulge out of their sockets. I never said much, but they knew me. If I wanted something, I took it. If I was pissed off, I would belt someone right in the mouth. I didn't play games. I didn't put up with shit.

I gazed into Joey's terrified eyes. She didn't seem like herself anymore. She'd changed a lot. And not in a good way. She seemed smaller. Paler. Almost sick. The black masses beneath her eyes showed that she didn't sleep and I wondered if she was eating. Damn, I wish I could forget how close we used to be. I didn't want to care. Damn it! I closed my mouth upon hers, forcefully slipped her my tongue and I pulled her against me.

"He wants to keep her for himself." Snort cackled.

Joey fell against me like a rag doll. Her entire body limp. Her tiny hands on my chest and she returned my kiss. Passionately, hungrily, but I guess my accomplices didn't notice. They cheered my actions.

"I call next." I didn't like that look in Roman's eyes. I didn't like the way his tongue ran over his bottom lip.

"I don't share." I growled, pulled out a chair and made her sit as gently as I could.

I stood behind her and traced that scar with my fingertips. Long, thick and purplish. It wasn't that old. I let my hands caressed her bare shoulders, down her arms that were covered in bruises. Hand prints. Joey shrugged away from me for the first time ever and pulled that hoodie tight and I plopped down beside her.

"Now, let's see if your tiny brains can create this recipe. If you can't make this simple batch of cookies than you have no hope that you can pull off anything else we make this year." I couldn't see if Mrs. Fortner demonstrated her instructions but I could hear her tapping the blackboard with the chalk. I made a mental note to stand on the other side of that wall during her babbling next time, but I could make cookies. I had made them before. Many times but I hated the memories. All those fun times. The dough fights, feeding each other …

I went to the cupboards behind us and started pulling shit out. Flour, sugar, vanilla extract. Roman and Snort leaned against the corner, chatting about who knew what. Obviously, they didn't care if they passed or not. But I did. I wanted to get out of school and I needed to learn what Mrs. Fortner was teaching. Those two were probably going to drop out anyway and I wasn't dumb enough to let them drag me down with them.

I'd gathered my supplies and still had no partner. That shocked me because Joey had always been a good student, but she still sat on that stool, staring at the paper in front of her.

She was quiet, her hand propped up on her hand. I think she wanted to hide herself from me or maybe she didn't want to look at me.

I walked over and opened the bottom cabinet near her, looking for the cookie sheets the teacher said we all had, but I only found a pizza pan. I pulled it out and stood, noticing the paper in front of Joey and how there was nothing on it but tears on it.

"Since when do you cry?" I had said it too harshly. I couldn't help it. I still harbored a lot of resentment.

She didn't move. She just sat there staring at nothing. Geeze, the girl I had known before I had been tough, she hid her pain inwardly.

"How is she?" Her question came in a whisper. I barely heard it. I swallowed the lump in my throat. Then, I pulled out my wallet. I took out a small photograph, gazed at it a moment, then dropped it on the paper in front of her. Her fingertips glided over the image and I heard her sob even harder. I walked off. I hated to see her upset, but this time, she'd done it to herself.

Mrs. Fortner rapped the counter in front of Joey. Damn the woman not have any compassion.

"Just because I can't see this group doesn't mean you can be slackers. This station is always full of slackers." She snapped, then glanced at the pizza pan. "This is the wrong pan." She snapped.

"The cookie sheets are missing." I growled back.

"Then go check the other station. If it's not here, then someone has extra." She said it like I should have found that solution myself. "There. They have four. They should only have two." Then she went back to the front of the classroom and her pets I assumed because she seemed to smile when she approached the group of preppy girls.

I groaned and went to Seth's station. He handed me the baking sheets and held tight to them, challenging me with his angry glower. Yeah, I guess he saw me kiss Joey. And I guess that pissed him off even after all the time that had passed. I scowled right back.

"You're just going to throw it in our faces now." I glanced at Rachel, who discreetly wiped away a tear.

"You stood here and did nothing." I growled at him. "For someone who loves her so much you're a pretty shitty friend."

"I used to love her."

"Then what are you so upset about?"

* * *

Please Review.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** The characters in my stories are completely made up characters and have temporally been given borrowed names for the sole purpose of satisfying the qualifications for posting on this fanfiction site. These stories are fiction and should be perceived as such. They in no way reflect the lives, beliefs or views of any persons living or dead and any similarities are coincidental. I am not affiliated with any company or professional wrestler in any way. No disrespect or copyright infringement intended. And if any of my favs happen upon my stories, I hope your not offended because this is not about you, it is about feedback on my story ideas. :) I love and respect what you do and I thank you for all the joy and entertainment over the years.

* * *

New story. First draft. This is going to be a high school/ growing up story. Enjoy. :D

* * *

Chapter 3

It was the first time I had seen her since she was born. I traced the photo of her sitting on her daddy's lap with blue eyes and a big smile. Her little curls came to her chin and they were red. Oh, how I had wanted to hold her, but I wasn't allowed to. I carried her for nine months, so close to my heart and she had laid in my arms only five minutes before she was taking away. I was so thankful that I had that. If that woman had been home when I'd given birth the midwife she'd hired to deliver her would have never been able to hand her to me.

For days I begged for her, but my pleas were ignored. After that moment, they no longer locked the door and they no longer brought me food. I can't remember another time in my life when I had felt so weak. I laid there for two days unable to move. I was sure I was going to die. Those people sure wasn't happy I was still there. My father took his time coming for me. On the third day, I heard her cries. I forced myself to get up. I showered. Dressed in the clean gown the midwife left for me and changed the linen on my bed. I shouldn't have done that, but I wanted to show those people I wasn't what they thought I was. I was going to leave that room clean, pack what little I had, then claim what was mine and run from that horrible place, but exhaustion stole my only chance.

The next time I woke, I heard him. I heard Randy.

Oh, how I had wanted him. How I had called for him. I had tried to sneak away and call him so many times. Each time I was caught, dragged back to that room and locked in. Then, they kept it locked. I was a prisoner in a strange place with people I didn't know. But I knew what they wanted. And I was never going to give it to them. I don't care how much money they promised my father. All I had was my hopes and my dreams. Dreams of the only one I ever loved. And then he was there. It was so hard to walk, but I made it to that door. It hurt to go down that staircase and I felt dizzy when I got to the living room. I grabbed the door frame and I laid my eyes on the most beautiful vision I had ever had. He had come. He and his parents were there, arguing with the couple who thought they could buy anything they wanted.

"Randy." I wished I could run to him, but I couldn't take another step.

Randy turned. He gazed at me, but those eyes were not the same. The softness was gone, replaced with hard steel. He said nothing to me. His parents glared.

"I'm calling the police." The woman threatened them. "That is my child."

"I don't care what she signed." Randy jutted his finger at me. "I didn't sign shit and I never will!" Then he picked up our little girl. That tiny, precious thing created by our love and he left – without me.

I slipped to the floor, unable to believe it. I was heartbroken. Shattered. I didn't hear a damn word those people shouted at me. Not then. They put me back in that room. I laid there. Feeling nothing but numbness. Even when my father showed up, arguing with the people. I felt nothing.

"You never said anything about the father wanting that baby!" The strange man yelled. "I've wasted all this money! Providing care for that girl! For nothing!"

And my father made sure I paid for the embarrassment and the six figure pay day he'd lost. He'd blamed me. Sure I had told Randy about my pregnancy. But I had never gotten the chance. They had all made sure of that. I don't know how he'd found out. To this day I still don't know, but I'm glad he did, even if he didn't want me anymore. Losing my child was unavoidable. They'd planned to forge my signature and steal her. I had no idea what kind of life she would have had with them. They hadn't treated me very well, but I knew she was okay with Randy and his family.

I managed a smile. My little girl looked so happy. That's all I ever wanted from the time I learned of her existence and maybe once in a while, I would get a glimpse of her even though I would never be allowed to hug her or talk to her. They had a restraining order against me and my entire family. As much as that pained me I was thankful because my father was a spiteful man. He'd spewed so many horrible things. Plots of revenge and they all included taking that precious child away from us all. But he would never dare. Not knowing that stepping within that fifty foot radius could land him behind bars. He couldn't drink behind bars and his liquor was the only thing he really cared about.

Whap! I jumped when Mrs. Fortner smacked the table with that rolling pin. It took me a moment to realize that she hadn't hit me and even longer to stop trembling. I'd been hit so many times that I barely felt the pain at the time of the abuse.

I stood. I had to get my head together. I had to move on with my life and getting out of school was important to that plan. Randy had already pulled out the ingredients, so I just needed a bowl - Roman and Snort sauntered over the minute they were alone with me. They snatched at the photograph in my hand before I could tuck it safely in my pocket. I jerked it away and jutted out my fist as if I held my daughter and not the photograph.

"Bitch!" Snort yelled loud enough to make the low toned chit chat turn into deadly silence. Blood poured from his nose and the hand that cupped it. Then I turned ice cold eyes on Roman, daring him. That picture exposed too much and I'd be damned if I let them get their hands on it. Not to mention it was all I had of my baby. All I had of my beautiful Mia.

"What on Earth is going on?" Mrs. Fortner didn't take the time to figure out what had happened. She saw the blood and grabbed a handful of dish towels. Snort had tears pouring out as fast as his blood as she led him out. I guess he was embarrassed that the damage had been caused by a girl because he'd told the teacher he'd ran into an open cabinet and all I had to do was put up with Mrs. Fortner's lecture to the entire class about the dangers of leaving the cupboards open.

"I think you're the kind of girl I could fall in love with." Roman grinned at me. His normal sneer curling up into an honest smile. "You want to go out?"

"You're not my type." I spat at him and he chuckled.

"Can I help?" He was a different guy, standing close, but not too close as he scooped out flour and poured it into the bowl. I kept staring out of the corner of my eye wondering what he was setting me up for. "So, where do you live?"

I answered with a glare. Did he really think I would trust him?

"I swear I'm not up to anything – I'd like to drive you home – after school." He seemed nervous. Roman – nervous?

Randy dropped the baking sheets on the stovetop when he returned, causing a loud clammer. Roman stared up at him and took a step away. Randy had kissed me and I guess that was meant something in their pack. Oh, that kiss. It still didn't seem real. Like a dream. I had wanted and needed to be in his arms so badly for so long.

"Take a walk Roman." Randy growled and Roman took off. I didn't see him the rest of the class. Randy and I didn't say anything to each other. We made that recipe together like we had before, each doing our parts. It was a routine, one I guess we never forgot. We finished pretty quickly, putting them in the oven. Waiting in silence until they were done, then scooping them on a plate for the teacher to test.

"Why did you do it?" Randy asked as we washed the dishes.

I dried the bowl and spoons and put them away. Just the words stung.

"It really hurts that you believe that." I said, staring him dead in the eyes. "I think that hurts more than – any of the rest."

"Very good." Mrs. Fortner complimented. I glanced at her, picked up my books and headed for the door, reaching it as the bell rang.

* * *

Please Review.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** The characters in my stories are completely made up characters and have temporally been given borrowed names for the sole purpose of satisfying the qualifications for posting on this fanfiction site. These stories are fiction and should be perceived as such. They in no way reflect the lives, beliefs or views of any persons living or dead and any similarities are coincidental. I am not affiliated with any company or professional wrestler in any way. No disrespect or copyright infringement intended. And if any of my favs happen upon my stories, I hope your not offended because this is not about you, it is about feedback on my story ideas. :) I love and respect what you do and I thank you for all the joy and entertainment over the years.

* * *

New story. First draft. This is going to be a high school/ growing up story. Enjoy. :D

* * *

Chapter 4

"Are you feeling alright, kiddo?" My mother walked into my room and stuck her hand on my forehead. I had been quiet since I came home, sitting on the edge of my bed. "What's that?" I showed her the framed photograph that I pulled from my nightstand.

"I have a class with Joey." I sighed. "We were paired together in home economics. Mom, something just doesn't feel right about all this. Keeping her away like we are?"

"You're just thinking that because talked to her today."

"No. I've felt that way before."

"Honey, she tried to sell Mia." She reasoned. "You heard what Pam said."

"Pam Collins is a habitual liar," I stated bitterly. "And you know – mom – Joey has never lied to me. She was always honest, even if it was something she knew I didn't want to hear – about anything." I laughed as I thought of a moment. "Remember that Mohawk I had when I was twelve? Joey said it looked like I glued a dirty old feather duster to my head."

"What are you saying?"

"Mom, I never talked to her about Mia." I had felt a pain in my stomach since the moment I kissed Joey that day. "Mom – I left her." I couldn't help it. I collapsed my head in my hands. "I left her there, Mama. And I think – I think she needed my help and I just …"

My mother sat down on the bed beside me and rubbed my back.

"Randy, listen to me. You did what you had to do. You couldn't let those people take your child like that. And what else we believe? Joey never told you. She never contacted you. We all know how well she knew the phone number. There had to be reason why she kept Mia a secret."

"Maybe it's not the reason we think."

"She was with you the night before she disappeared."

"And her father made her leave. She was really upset that night."

"She could have blurted it out. If she wanted you to know she would have said something somehow. I just can't believe otherwise. Just lay down and rest. You've been working and going to school then coming home and taking care of Mia for years. Just take a nap and let me be grandma tonight, okay?"

"Okay Mom."

But it didn't make me feel better.

All I could think about was the past.

I always hated school and I looked forward to the weekends. It was my only thought since Rachel Morrow had moved into the home across the street. She was my kid brother Seth's age. Petite, blond, a little on the plump side but not in a bad way. It was all in her thighs and hips and she had a skinny waist. I always thought she was pretty and she was sweet too. I knew she liked me from the minute we met. She'd introduced herself by bringing me a glass of cold ice tea while I was mowing the front lawn.

She was new. Had no friends, so I invited her to go to the park with me that afternoon. I went there every single day. That's where my best friend and I met for the past two years. I think Rachel was expecting another guy. She seemed really shocked to see Joey waving from the swing she sat on and I remember she asked if Joey was my girl. Oh, how I wish I had answered her different, instead of saying I wasn't into dating.

Rachel and Joey hit it off quickly. After that day Joey was always near on the weekends and I really loved that.

Joey was younger than the rest of us. She had skipped a grade and I had failed one. My mom often joked that I had done it intentionally so I could stay close to Joey. Back then they thought our friendship was cute, but Joey and I – we didn't realize our feelings for each other went beyond friendship. We were only in seventh grade. Boys and girls were just starting to claim each other as boyfriends and girlfriends. Just starting to have big crushes and neither of us seemed to have those feelings for anyone. We'd talked about it sometimes and wondered if there was something wrong with us. Now that I think back, I know I did have a crush and I think she did too, we just didn't want to admit it.

Joey was my first kiss. My first love. We had this hiding place, an old train tunnel at the park that had stopped being used a decade before we were born. We were just kids when our lips first touched. It wasn't anything passionate. Just a touch filled with static electricity that made us both laugh. We kissed a few more times after that. Every time we ran into that tunnel. It was just fun to touch our lips and feel that shock. Then, in eighth grade, that kiss turned into more. We shared our first French kiss. It was the first time I pulled her close to me. The first time I wanted to be as close to her as I could get. But it ended with that kiss because it was also the first time Rachel found our hiding place. We pulled away as we heard her and Joey ran off with her.

"I love you." I turned to Joey that night when Rachel went to the bathroom.

"She'll hate me." Joey held my hand on the sofa, keeping her gaze on her lap. "And what if this doesn't last, Randy? We're young. Love at this age – you two are the only friends I ever had."

"I know. I don't want to date you if it means I could lose you as a friend someday." And I said the same thing to Rachel many times. But that girl still tried to convince me I was wrong until one day I just snapped at her.

"Rachel, I just don't feel that way about you. You're like my little sister. I can't help it." I just had to say it. I couldn't take her rubbing my shoulders and finding ways to sit so close to me, but I did like hanging out with Rachel. She was a really great person and fun. I knew she couldn't help how she felt.

For a time it was the three of us, hanging out, watching movies and playing games, then Seth's best friend moved away and I brought him with me hoping to cheer him up. Then there were four of us walking the neighborhood, laughing loudly and horse playing in the woods. Things would have been so much simpler if Seth had developed a crush on Rachel. Those two were so much a like that it really made no sense. The ganged up to play tricks on Joey and me constantly. We played war games and they always chose each other. Yes, we were kind of nerdy. We liked to act out all kinds of stuff. Medieval games, dungeons and dragons type scenarios. It was fun and it's not like anyone from school was ever around to see.

Seth confided his secret to me one night as we were walking home. Right after a pretty intense night of roleplaying. Joey had been his hostage and I think I was some kind of private detective and Rachel was a cop. Anyway, he said he'd wanted to kiss Joey that night and it really irked me. I should have just told him what was going on, but my brother was not the understanding type. He wanted what he wanted and he usually got it. He found the nerve to tell Joey the very next day even though I told him he shouldn't say anything.

"Seth, no." Joey answered him without missing a beat. "Okay, I think we should make a rule. None of us are allowed to date anyone in our group."

"That's silly, Joey." Rachel said.

"Right now, let's promise." Joey put her hand in the center of the table we played Uno on. "Couples don't last forever. Friends do. I choose the friendship because it means more to me than anything else in the world."

"Me too." I placed my hand on hers. Rachel put her hand on mine and Seth placed his on hers. But my gaze never broke Joey's. I saw all I needed to know in her eyes and her feelings were the same as mine. Nothing was worth risking the friendship. Nothing.

* * *

Please Review.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** The characters in my stories are completely made up characters and have temporally been given borrowed names for the sole purpose of satisfying the qualifications for posting on this fanfiction site. These stories are fiction and should be perceived as such. They in no way reflect the lives, beliefs or views of any persons living or dead and any similarities are coincidental. I am not affiliated with any company or professional wrestler in any way. No disrespect or copyright infringement intended. And if any of my favs happen upon my stories, I hope your not offended because this is not about you, it is about feedback on my story ideas. :) I love and respect what you do and I thank you for all the joy and entertainment over the years.

* * *

New story. First draft. This is going to be a high school/ growing up story. Enjoy. :D

* * *

Chapter 5

"What are you doing?" I jumped. My father stood in the doorway staring with those wild eyes. I felt paralyzed. Like I always did in his presence. His bark. I'd been terrified of it my entire life. He stormed across the room and jerked the photograph I held tight to my chest out of my hands. He took one look at the picture of myself and Randy that I kept hiding beneath a loose piece of carpet in the corner of my room, then tore it two. He snatched my arm, holding me captive as he pulled his thick leather belt and struck me repeatedly. Each strike felt like it would tear my skin to shreds. He shoved me to the floor and usually he would stop and leave the room. But this time he kept hitting, screaming at me for the money he'd lost. "You're a stupid little whore! You love him more than your own family! You let him use you! You disobeyed me!"

I had always tried to contain my tears after a beating, but those days I couldn't anymore. I laid there sobbing as my body throbbed and my skin burned. He towered over me, letting out little spits through his snuff stained lips. "Yeah, you're all alone now aren't you? Just like whores should be."

I grasped the pieces of that old photograph with a shaky hand. Ripped right down the middle, splitting apart the kids. I closed my eyes. Just like we really were. Oh, I'd never imagined it would be like that between us. It was everything I had tried to prevent. Losing him. Rachel and Seth. They each meant so much to me. They were all I had and all because of one night – one slip – I no longer had them. I had no one.

It's funny how people can harbor no love for someone related by blood. I can't say my father ever gave a damn about me. He'd never showed me any love. Not even as a small child. He'd pushed me away. Shoved me away and beat me if I even looked at him wrong. I was everything that had gone wrong in his life. Dumped on him after my mother had died giving birth. According to him I was evil. My mother hadn't been anything special to him, but he never let me forget that I had killed her and he said he would kill me before he let me suck the life out of him. I had always found a little hope before, but lately, I believed those things were true about myself. Look what I had done to the friends I'd loved so much. I caused close brothers to feud. I'd condemned Randy to a hard life of work, school and fatherhood. I ended his youth too early and I'd destroyed Rachel's trust and Rachel had a hard time trusting anyone. She'd been set up by anyone who ever approached her as a friend before. She'd gone through relentless bullying in her last school and now she wouldn't even talk to anyone butt Seth. She didn't want to make new friends and she snapped at anyone who dared to try.

That one night – it had started like every other day. We were too old for the games we played I guess, but it was fun to pretend. Rachel wanted to be an actress and you know it was really great helping her develop that talent.

It was a stormy night and for the first time, Randy and I weren't partners like we usually were. It was Seth's turn to write the script as we called it. I think he was trying to sneak past our pact because he took the role of a wealthy business man who dabbled in illegal activities and gave me the part of his wife. Rachel always played cop roles well, but that night she was Seth's secretary and mistress who hired Randy to get me out of the way. Rachel never devated from the scene. Never tried to put herself next to Randy. She was too serious about her acting. She studied for that career choice with a passion and I knew she was going to make it someday. She was so believable in every role rather it was in our role play or the school productions.

Randy grabbed me from behind as I pretended to browse a clothing store. He chuckled in my ear as he cupped his hand over my mouth, pulled me into a closet and shut the door.

"I'm going to make sure no one ever finds you." He whispered in my ear. He held my back against him and draped one arm carefully across my neck. He slipped his free hand around my waist and I heard him sigh. The tank I wore had crept up, exposing my middle and his hand landed on my bare skin.

"I don't think it's going to be too hard for my husband to find me." I spat in an uppity rich girl tone, pulled away and faced him. I snickered because I hadn't expected him to be wearing that silly ski mask.

"Your husband is a fool." He growled. "No man should possess two women when I have none."

"And you think you can just take whatever you want?"

"Yeah." He said in a sultry tone.

"Well, there's just one problem with your plan."

"What's that?"

"You can't hold love hostage. No matter what you physical take, a heart can't be stolen."

"Want a bet?" he held a finger to my lips. Outside the door I heard Rachel and Seth playing the part of forbidden lovers sneaking off to enjoy each other's company. Randy peeked out the door, then took my hand.

"Where are we going?" I whispered as he led me through the house to the front door. He slipped the mask off his face, put a finger to his lips and opened the front door. We'd had to hide before, but usually we just went to his room or the basement and talked until one of them showed up.  
"We're really going to mess with them." He laughed, running through the yard and pulling me with him.

"We can't go in there." I resisted his pull when we got to the cellar door of the vacant home beside him.

"It's okay." He said opening it and going in. "Seth and I come here sometimes" We walked down the steps.

"I guess it really isn't a big secret then." I laughed.

"Not really." Randy laughed picking up a flashlight from the bottom step. "But I bet it will take a while before Seth thinks to look here."

The basement of that old house was wet and a little chilly despite the heat outside. The floor was mud and I felt like I was entering some kind of cavern. Randy pulled a skeleton key out of his pocket and opened an old wooden door. The walls of the room were lined with pipes and there was a desk and air mattress in it. It looked like a little hide away built by the previous owner. It had a floor – thin wood boards over the dirt that was probably stripped from a pallet.

I was interested in silly things like that. Little things that no one expected to be where they were. I guess the owner of this room had been an artist. There were yellowed piece of paper with faded sketches hung near the desk and the drawer of the old desk was full of pencils. Small pencils that were obviously sharpened many times.

"Randy!" I squealed as he grabbed me from behind. I laughed as he clasped my hands in front of me and threaded a tie strap around my wrists. He turned me to face him, slowly backed me against the wall, raised my arms and hooked that strap on a broken pipe.

Randy took the flashlight out of the room, returned and locked the old wrought iron knob.

"What are you doing now?"

"Giving them a challenge this time." He cackled, holding a smaller flashlight in his hand. "I put the flashlight back. So it looks like we were never here."

"Sneaky."

I heard shuffling outside the door. Randy turned out the flashlight. It didn't really take long for Seth to search the old basement. Randy came over and stood close to me. I could only make out an outline of him as he pulled the ski mask down. I felt the pretend gun he made with his hand as he touched it to my side. We were back in our roles waiting to play them out as the door knob jiggled.

"They're not here." I heard Seth growl. I could always tell when he was frustrated.

"Maybe they're inside."

"This door has always been locked." Seth growled again. "Let's go back. I bet they're in the attic."

"He's always been predictable." Randy stated when all had grown quiet again.

"Good." I laughed. "You can untie me for a while." My arms were stretched higher than I guess Randy realized and they were going numb.

"Or, I could have a little fun." Randy stayed in character. He turned on the small flashlight and set it on its end on the desk. He returned and stared with a sinister smile, running his hand from my belly to between my breasts until he found the tiny zipper of the tank top I wore that day.

"You know I've never seen a real set of breasts before." He chuckled. "I mean not in person." He gave the zipper a little pull. "You'd probably slap the shit out of me." He chuckled and gave the zipper another small tug.

"Do you think it would be worth it?" I asked him, narrowing my eyes.

"I'll let you know." He leaned a hand on the wall behind me and moved the zipper slowly, his eyes never looking away as he exposed what that shirt hid. He sucked in a deep breath when he laid eyes on my breasts, then brought his hand to cup one. I closed my eyes. I had never been touched their before and it felt really good. So warm and gentle. He brushed my nipple and realized they were really sensitive. I swallowed hard and felt my pulse quicken as he took it into his mouth.

"Randy." I could barely speak. He brought his gaze to mine, ran his hands up my arms, pulling my hands from the pipe and placing them around his neck. I couldn't break eye contact until he kissed me.

His phone beeping interrupted. He didn't let me go, holding me with one arm as he pulled the device from his back pocket. He read a text, typed something then held it up for me to see.

Where are you? Seth's text demanded.

Having my way with your wife. Find me if you can. LOL.

I laughed at Randy's silly teasing, but he wasn't laughing as he returned the phone and returned his lips to mine.

"Randy, you know we …"

"You know how I feel about you." He said softly. "If we have to pretend we feel nothing but friendship I at least want just one moment to show it – even if we never can again."

I had nothing to say as Randy laid me down on that mattress. The blanket felt so soft beneath me and it smelled fresh. Obviously it was recently placed there, like Randy had planned – everything. Like he wanted Seth and Rachel to catch us. Part of me wanted them to find us too. Somedays I was so tired of hiding it. This feeling I had for Randy had grown for a long time and I knew it wasn't going to go away.

He pulled off his shirt and mine. Oh, the feel of his bare skin to mine sent a wave of heat straight to my head and I could feel how hard his manhood was as his hips pressed against mine. We got so caught up in each other that I don't either of us could think about why we only stayed friends. Randy's phone rang repeatedly. But he didn't answer it. He ignored it and hungrily tugged on the button of my jeans until he released it. He sat back on his knees. Staring at me, gaging my response as he pulled away everything I wore. Then he stood, let his jeans fall and then laid on top of me again. I don't think either of us planned for it to go as far as it did.

I gasped when he slipped himself inside of me.

"Are you okay?" He stopped. Staring into my eyes and stroking my hair. He looked a bit frightened as if he was scared he had hurt me.

"I'm okay." I whispered and took a deep breath.

"You sure?"

I nodded then he slowly pushed himself further inside of me, gently raining kisses and caressing until I let out a moan. From that point on I felt nothing but pleasure. Being that close to him. Feeling his weight and his hot breath in my ear. It really didn't last long at all, but as we laid still, staring at each other and trying to catch our breath, I couldn't imagine anything being more beautiful.

We never meant for it to happen again, but it did. Twice, then we promised we would never make love again. To each other. We had to leave it in the past as a memory and find other people to love.

It was really hard watching Randy go out on a date with Sara Morgan. I watched him leave his house in the old pick up truck he'd gotten for his birthday the week before and it felt like someone had punched me in the gut, but I locked that pain deep inside my heart and spent the night consoling Rachel who sobbed on my shoulder. The girl mourned Randy the whole weekend and I had to keep my sorrow to myself. Sobbing into the pillow when she fell asleep. There was no one I could confide it. I just had to keep it to myself.

Two months later, I stared at two pink lines on a stick in the bathroom stall of the grocery store. It didn't seem possible. We had used protection every time. Sure the condom had broken the last time but that was just one time.

"What are you doing in there?" My stepmother, Pam stormed into the bathroom. I guess she noticed I had been gone a long time. Most the time the woman was so strung out she had no conception of time, but that day she was fidgety, on the hunt for her next fix.

I flushed the toilet and held the test over the box on the wall wondering how long I could hide the baby I carried. I guess I paused too long because Pam smashed through the locked door, catching me with it. She sneered, grabbed my hand, snatched the test and pulled me out of the store, telling my father everything over the phone.

It was raining that day. Storming and my father attacked me before I could get out of the car, hitting me so hard it split the corner of my eye. The blood dripped down and for the first time I got angry. I shoved that old man, causing him to flip over a stack of old tires and I ran. I wasn't going to take the abuse anymore. It wasn't just me anymore and I would protect my child with all I had even if it meant dying.

I dashed into the woods, rushing through the limbs, thorns and mud until I got to the road, then I ran across, hitting the path I always took to meet Randy at the park. The sky was so angry that night, darker than I'd ever seen, even for nighttime. The lightning struck down trees in the woods. I heard them falling. I heard the snapping and one came down only a few feet from where I was running. I was so wet. The precipitation running into my eyes and mouth, but I didn't stop. A funnel dropped out of the sky. The park I loved so much was terrorized by the strong winds. But I kept going, dipping into the path in the overgrown grass. Slipping into the old park where the rusted tank sat as a monument and kept going, battling the winds that knocked me down repeatedly. I felt like I was going to be sucked up and I had to grab on to the tunnel entrance and use all the strength I had to hold on and pull myself inside as the twister crossed my path, then disappeared.

The storms raged all night. I heard the hail hitting. I heard the roars of twisters hitting close, but none as close as the first. I laid down on the ground and curled up, hugging myself to stay warm. I had never been there alone before. But I still felt like I safe. Like nothing could hurt me as long as I was there.

* * *

Please Review.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** The characters in my stories are completely made up characters and have temporally been given borrowed names for the sole purpose of satisfying the qualifications for posting on this fanfiction site. These stories are fiction and should be perceived as such. They in no way reflect the lives, beliefs or views of any persons living or dead and any similarities are coincidental. I am not affiliated with any company or professional wrestler in any way. No disrespect or copyright infringement intended. And if any of my favs happen upon my stories, I hope your not offended because this is not about you, it is about feedback on my story ideas. :) I love and respect what you do and I thank you for all the joy and entertainment over the years.

* * *

New story. First draft. This is going to be a high school/ growing up story. Enjoy. :D

* * *

Chapter 6

I stared out the window in the living room. Storms always reminded me of the night Joey had taken off.

I had stared out the window that night too, despite my mother constantly telling me to get away from it. I watched the angry wind rip apart the neighbor's lawn furniture. Watched trash cans float down the street, watched the lightening light up the sky.

"Another one just touched down." My mother had the news on the television. The reporters kept updating every minute and I really wished they would give it a rest and let a show play. Something that would keep my mind off what was happening to the small town I lived in.

I listened to the updates. A trailer park across town was taken out. They showed pictures of the park. There wasn't much left standing."

"Wait … we have … folks we have confirmation of another touching down." He held a finger to his earpiece. "Cyprus road. We have confirmation of a F3 on the ground right now. If you live in this area please take cover."

I stood in front of that television. We were all watching the television. Then the station was back on the radar map. I walked across the room and stared out the back window. I stared at the sky behind our home. I stood rigid. Arms crossed. I didn't say anything.

I heard that damn beeping from Seth's game boy. I couldn't understand how he could be so calm. Every day he claimed to love her too. The lights flickered. Then the power went out.

"I better get some candles."

"They have storm shelter." My father placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I wish she was here." I croaked out. I wasn't the type to show my emotions on the outside, but inside I felt sick. I couldn't move. My mind raced and I felt panic. Not knowing was the worst feeling I had ever felt in my life. I hated that storm. I hated what it could do and what it may have done.

I moved away from the window and flopped down on the sofa. I knocked that stupid game out of my brother's hand, kicked my feet up on the coffee table and touched a hand to my mouth. Then my eyes were back on the storm outside. I couldn't shake the worry.

"Staring out the window isn't going to fix it." Seth stated dryly.

"People we know could be hurt or worse." I snarled.

"Rachel is in her basement and Joey is spending the night with her. They're safe" Seth let out a breath. "They're both safe. We're safe. I don't know too many other people."

"Joey didn't show up." I sighed. "She's home."

"What?" Seth sat up straight. "We need to go get her. That trailer …"

"No one is going anywhere." My father interrupted. "More people trying to maneuver through this mess isn't going to help anyone. Your friend is safer where she is than driving down some road in a car."

A loud repeated boom surprised us all. Someone knocking on the door in the middle of that store was the last thing any of us expected.

My father opened the door. I expected to find some poor stranded motorist, but instead a wild eyed man I had never seen before stormed into our home.

"Where is she?" He jutted his head from side to side. Peered into doors and in closets. I was on my feet ready to defend my home and family against this physco and so was Seth.  
"Who are you looking for?"

"My daughter!" he shouted. "I know she hangs out with those punks." He stabbed a finger at Seth and myself.

"You're Joey's dad?" Seth asked. The guy was scary looking. But his red hair as the same color as his daughters

"The little whore ran off. She must be here. She's not across the street." I don't give a damn if the guy was an adult or not. I belted him one in the mouth and stood over him with clenched fists. "Don't you dare talk about Joey like that? I don't give a shit about you being her father."

"She's our friend." Seth stood by my side.

"Guess she's fucking both of you." He spat. Seth and I both were livid.

"Boys! Boys!" our father held us back. Seth flopped on to the sofa. But I headed for the door with the keys to my truck. Joey was out in that mess and I knew exactly where she would go. All I had in my head was the damaged park.

"I'm gonna kill you kid." The red head said wiping blood from his lip.

"Do it then old man!" I shouted. "Joey's out in this mess! You obviously don't give a shit about her!" I crossed the yard in few steps.

"Randy! Get back here!" My mother screamed at the door. "Randy!"

I drove too fast, barely missing fallen trees. The puddles in the road caused my back end to slip this way and that, but I kept going until I got to what was left of the park. The rain started again, coming down hard with chunks of ice. I pulled my hoodie over my head and ran toward the shelter of the train tunnel.

"Joey!" I called out as soon as I saw the opening. I dipped inside "Jo?"

I approached the small heap slowly. I knelt beside her and touched her shoulder. She lifted her head, sat up and threw her arms around me. "Geeze, baby." I cupped her face in my hands, touching her bruised cheeks and wiping dried blood from the gash in the corner of her eye and away from her nose. She was ice cold and I took off my hoodie and placed it around her.

"Let's get out of here." I guided her to her feet and rushed her toward my truck. The sky above us swirled and I feared we might not make it back to my house before another twister dropped.

"How dare you run away?"

I had no idea I had been followed until Joey's father snatched her from me. He held her by her arm pulling her along. She tripped and fell. The large man grabbed her long hair and dragged her along.

"Randy!" My parents were there too. "Leave it alone." My father held a hand to my chest.

"We can't just take her." My mother reasoned. "Get in the truck. We have to get out of this weather."

My mother reported what we had seen to the police the next morning, but I guess there was too much going on with the storm damage or maybe they couldn't tell us anything.

I was really worried when I went back to school and she didn't show up. We were all worried. Rachel called but she was hung up on every time she asked to talk to Joey.

"Maybe she ran away again." Seth had stated at after week of not seeing her. He hadn't said much that week or eaten. I was the same way. I wasn't really hungry. I was too worried.

"She would have called one of us." Rachel reasoned.

"Maybe she doesn't want us to have to lie if the police question us." I sighed. "You know how she feels about lying."

"Maybe she's going to grandmothers." Rachel said hopeful. "She lives a long way from here. It could take a few days. And her grandmother would have to call lawyers and stuff to get custody of her …"

"Maybe."

"Then she'll call." Rachel rubbed Seth's shoulder sympathetically and when the bell rang she leaned against me. I gave her a squeeze. "She'll be okay. She's always been tough."

"I know." Rachel wiped away a tear. "But she's my sister. Randy, she doesn't tell you guys everything because she knows … Her home is awful. I'm scared they may have killed her this time … dumped her body who knows where and we'll never know what happened to her."

"Oh, God, Rachel please don't say that." Seth's eyes teared up. "Geeze! Why didn't you tell someone!" he yelled at her.

"I promised."

"You should have told us! You should have told me! You know how much I love her! If something happened …"

"Seth stop." I commanded.

"No!' Seth growled. "You don't keep secrets like that!"

"Seth!"

"I blame you!" He shouted. "If she's dead … It's all your fault!" Then he stormed off, snatching the paper banner from the entrance, balling it up and tossing it away in anger.

"He'll calm down." I consoled Rachel who was sobbing uncontrollably. "She's okay. Don't worry. We'll hear from her soon."

But we never did. Six months later, after watching the doors every morning hoping she'd walk through them. After months of Seth blaming Rachel and months of us sitting in silence in the hallway worrying and thinking the worse, Rachel and her mother ran into Joey's stepmother.

"Where is Joey?" Rachel asked her meekly. "She hasn't been in school …"

"Oh," Pam snickered. "She up and ran off to stay with some strange couple on coast."

"Oh, did she go to live with someone in her mother's family?" Her mother had asked as her groceries were rung up.

"She doesn't know those people." Pam spat. "They're buying the little bra she's carrying. The woman's dropping rotten eggs and they promised to take care of her medical care and give her big bucks after she spits out the kid."

"That's crazy." Rachel challenged. "She would have told me if she was pregnant."

"Not if she doesn't want anyone to know she was pregnant, girlie." She snickered. "But the whole town knows what she did. Sneaking out of the house … meeting up with boys."

Rachel still didn't believe it when she came back and Seth what had been said. I was upstairs and I just sat down on the staircase as Rachel talked.

"It makes no sense." She'd told Seth. "She'd never said anything about sleeping with a guy. How could she be pregnant when she never dated anyone? Did you and her?"

"No."

"What about that party? I left way before you guys and she was drinking."

"Joey wouldn't even let me touch her. She gave me a fat lip for touching her ass." Seth shook his head, heartbroken that Joey could have chosen someone over him. "Who could the guy be? Maybe a guy from the football team? There is that one guy that she cuts up from time to time in art."

"I don't know." Rachel shook her head. "But why hasn't she called. I mean I can understand why she's letting that couple buy the baby, but we're supposed to be close. She knows she can tell me anything."

"She's what?" I was stunned to learn that Joey was pregnant and heartbroken that she had run off without so much as telling me. "She can't do that."

"People do it all the time." Seth sighed. "She's only fourteen Randy. How can she …"

"But it's not just her choice. It's my damn kid too!"

"Yours?" Rachel shook her head back and forth. "You and Joey?"

"I'll never forgive her for this." I spat. "She could have yelled it out when her father was dragging her away." I paced in frustration. "Oh course. No wonder she hasn't called. She can't get rid of the baby if I don't sign the papers. She can't get paid because she knows I wouldn't give it up. She's got to tell them she doesn't know …"

"You!" Seth stared at me. "You!"

"Get over it Seth!" I shouted. "Damn it. I knew her long before you ever did."

"You didn't want her llike that until you found out I did. You've always had to have what I have."

"No, that's your thing, Seth. You've always taken what was mine. Joey was always mine! And like always you had to try and throw your tantrum to get what you wanted. You want her? She all yours!"

I couldn't think straight.

"Now, I really wish she was lying dead in some unmarked grave." Rachel spat with tears running down her face. "No wonder she didn't want any of us to date. She planned to steal you from me! And she did!" I barely heard her slam the door behind her.

"I hate you for this." Seth punched me so hard it knocked me to my knees.

That night I tried to reason with my thoughts. I tried to understand why Joey had done what she had. I tried to be okay with it because I loved her so much but it really hurt that she would leave me out of a decision so big.

The next day I told my parents. And the next thing I know, everyone was mad. First at me for being so careless, for ruining my life by knocking a girl up when I was so young. And then angry that they had a grandchild being auctioned off somewhere. The next thing I know my mother was talking to Pam on the phone, jotting down details on a pad.

"Well, that really is sad." My mother didn't give any hint of her intentions nor did she tell Pam that I was the baby's father. "And they live on the coast?"

After a few minutes of talking to the "woman who mother said sounded drunk or high or maybe a combination of the two, she was on the phone with a lawyer.

"Well, its against the law to sell a child , but there is no law against someone paying for medical bills for a mother who is willing ot let someone adopt her child." My mother said. "But she can't if the father wants the child. You have rights too Randy. And if we prove that she is selling the kid she will be arrested. Hell, she'll be arrested for lying about not knowing who the father is. You're sure?"

"Joey wouldn't sleep around."

"Well, she would do this." My mother spat. "I guess evil is in the blood." She sighed. "I got the address and we are going to pay a visit to Joey and those people."

"Mom, I don't want Joey to go to jail." I begged.

"Randy don't be naïve. I know you have years of friendship, but this is a dangerous situation for an infant to be in. There's no telling what kind of people they are. They could be buying the baby so they can sell it on the black market, or take it out of the country … We're going to have a blood test done first thing too. If it's not yours at least it will be safe in the hands of social services."

"Just let me talk to her." I said when we pulled up at that strange home the following week.

"She's brainwashed you all these years. I'm not going to let her do it to you anymore."

"It may not be what we think, mom. Give her a chance. Please."

But once I got inside. Once that couple explained everything … I just couldn't see anything but my anger. Then they offered to pay me off. I was disgusted. And my child was three days old. I had missed watching her birth. Something I had wanted to do. I couldn't even stand the sight of Joey when she entered the room. I just picked up my baby girl and walked out.

Now, I wondered if I had reacted too harshly. I wondered if my anger had blinded me. Anger often go the best of me. I really couldn't think straight and sometimes I wasn't sure what I was doing. That day in school Joey's eyes had been filled with real pain. Not regret or guilt or even apologetic. She was hurting. She was heartbroken.

* * *

Please Review.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** The characters in my stories are completely made up characters and have temporally been given borrowed names for the sole purpose of satisfying the qualifications for posting on this fanfiction site. These stories are fiction and should be perceived as such. They in no way reflect the lives, beliefs or views of any persons living or dead and any similarities are coincidental. I am not affiliated with any company or professional wrestler in any way. No disrespect or copyright infringement intended. And if any of my favs happen upon my stories, I hope your not offended because this is not about you, it is about feedback on my story ideas. :) I love and respect what you do and I thank you for all the joy and entertainment over the years.

* * *

Thanks so much for all the reviews, favs and follows guys. You're awesome. :D

* * *

Chapter 7

"Hey, Jo!"

I turned around in the hallway, my brows narrowed, questioning why Roman was rushing through the crowd in the hall to get to my side. I kept walking. I wasn't interested in hearing his bull first thing in the morning. I was starting to feel different. I felt bitter and angry. I'd had my ass kicked every which way imaginable my entire life and I had stayed up all night trying to think of what I could have done to deserve the punishment I got. And you know what? I couldn't think of anything. What the hell was I if not kind to everyone, even if they didn't deserve it? I did as I was told. I studied hard. I brought home honor roll grades just to get my ass handed to me if I made a B and if I had all A's I got beat for not having perfect scores.

I always did my chores, no matter how hard. I was always respectful and I had helped Pam and my father after many nights of drinking too much or taking too many drugs.

Yes, I made one mistake in my life. I made the mistake of falling in love and trusting a man! Randy set me up that first night and many nights after that. I had spent so much time blaming myself for everything when it wasn't my fault at all.

If I hadn't been starved for a little bit of affection I wouldn't have been so stuck on Randy. I wouldn't have fallen for his tricks and soft kisses. I would have never given in to him. I felt so stupid for thinking that he really loved me. He loved me so much that he fed me to the wolves and stole my baby.

We'd been friends so many years. We were so close, I thought. I had never lied to him or given him any reason to think I would do such a horrible thing. I know that boy had seen the bruises on me. He had to know something was wrong in my home. Yet, he came in there without so much as a hint that he'd even worried about what had happened to me. I guess he was off messing around with the next girl. Maybe I did want to keep our feelings secret because I didn't want to hurt Rachel or Seth but Randy never fought against it. If he had really wanted me as his girl, he would have never agreed. He would have convinced me that it would all be alright and that if it wasn't we would still have each other. Damn, that's all it was in the beginning anyway. Just me and him.

Then he had the nerve to kiss me in class? What the hell was that? I think he only did it to try and hurt Seth and Rachel. But I don't think those two even cared any more. Neither of them even tried to talk to me when I came back. So much for friendship, huh? It was obvious what it was about. Rachel was my friend because she liked Randy and she knew Randy was my best friend. And Seth only hung around because he wanted to screw me too. None of it could have been real because if it was they would have gotten over everything and we'd be friends again. Sleeping with Randy wasn't that major of a thing. It's not like we were dating either of them. We weren't cheating on anybody. The only person who got cheated in the entire situation was me.

"Jo!" Roman caught up to me and slowed his pace. "Girl, you walk fast."

"What do you want, Roman." I snapped at him.

"Why are you walking around alone?"

"Why do you care?"

"You can sit me and my friends." He jutted his head toward the brick wall his group of clowns liked to sit on outside. I saw Randy sitting there with his arms crossed, like he was the toughest guy in school.

"No thanks." I spat.

"Come on." Roman begged. "I know I've given you a hard time, but I saw something in you yesterday."

"Like what?"

"You're not one of the nerds. You belong with us."

"Oh yeah." I reached into my bag and put on my glasses. "Still think so?"

"Jo," he pulled me into a closet and shut the door behind us. He trapped me against a shelf.

"Let me go." I stated brashly, nearly spitting in his face.

"Listen to me for just one minute." He begged. "I know what it's like for you."

"You don't know anything about me."

"I know my old man knocks me around whenever he feels like it." he spat and pulled up one of the long sleeves he always wore, no matter how hot, exposing a long thick scar from his wrist to his elbow. "This was punishment for pulling the cord out of the push mower." He pulled his sleeve down. "I've always been mean to people around here because it makes me feel like I have some power over something." He confided. "Not only that, but I feel like if I make people fear me, they won't dare hurt me. Look at me. I'm poor as shit. I don't dress in nice clothes. I stole this jacket from a department store. Hell, it's the nicest thing I own, but it keeps me safe."

"Why are you telling me this?" I scowled at him. "If you think it's gonna get you laid you're wrong."

"When I saw those marks on you – I felt bad because I know you've been through a lot and you didn't need anymore shit from me."

"You know a lot of people don't need anymore shit from you. You shouldn't pick at anyone because you don't know what they have to deal with at home."

"I didn't think anyone knew what it was like to be tortured at home." He seemed honestly sorry. "Jo, everyone gives you a hard time."

"It's just how it is. I'm not a likable person I guess." I shrugged and gave him a weak smile. "Just do me a favor … if you figure out what I'm doing that makes people hate me, let me know."

"You don't do anything." He sighed. "You're just … you're beautiful, okay?" He looked at his feet. "You're so pretty and the kind of girl that I know would never give me a chance in hell."

"You're not ugly Roman." I touched his cheek. "You just have a bad attitude." He really was cute. He had a dark complexion, jet black hair and big coal black eyes. His hair hung long down his back and he had a muscular chest even if he was a little soft in the middle. He wasn't unattractive at all.  
"I see you turning." He said. "And that's okay. I know you have your reasons. That's why you belong with us."

"Roman, what I need is to go to class." I dipped past him with a little laugh and went back to the hallway.

He was right. I was changing. I was turning cold towards people. I was snapping at the kids that bumped into me in the hall because I knew it wasn't all accidental. I was smarting off to teachers and to my father and stepmother. They smacked me around anyway, so I had nothing to lose by letting them know how I felt.

I felt darker. I felt like cold. I didn't want to be nice. I didn't need to be so damn nice. I wanted people to hate me and I wanted them to fear me. I guess I really wasn't much different than Roman.

I stopped caring. I even went to my neighbor's house and let him practice his tattoo work on my inner wrist. He was much better than he let on and I loved the scorpion that he permanently marked me with. I stole some makeup from my step mother. She had so much crap she didn't wear and she'd sure taken a lot of my things. Anything I managed to get actually and there was a few things that she hadn't ruined yet that I decided to take back.

I didn't care to wear anything but black. I put on thick black eyeliner and drew it in a point at the corners. I didn't want anyone to look at my eyes anymore. I didn't want them to see what had been done to me.

"damn girl." Roman caught up with me in the hall again. "I don't know what you're going for but you're only making yourself hotter." He smiled coyly as we stepped outside. I tolerated him mainly because I understood him. "It's cold out here." He took off his leather jacket and placed it around my shoulders."

"Don't try to claim me." I spat.

"Just put it on." He snapped back, then snatched a hat off a freshman boy that passed him. The kid was tiny. At least a foot shorter than he should be for his age.

"Give it back." I snarled at him.

"Why?"

I cocked an eyebrow and stared daggers at him until he relented.

"You're gonna give me a bad rep."

"You've always had a bad rep."

I gave in and sat on that brick wall with him that day. Snort, Bray and some tall guy that looked like a walking zombie joined him a few minutes later.

"I ought to deck you for what you did." Snort snarled at me.

"Go for it and I'll rearrange that new nose job." I spat back. I wasn't scared of anyone anymore it seemed. Why? What more could anyone really do to me?

Randy didn't say a word when he showed up. He just stood against the wall, glaring at me. Then he lit a cigarette and put it to his lips.

"Real nice, Orton." I spat. "Is that what you do around our kid?"

His eyes grew real big then and he flicked the thing away and walked off.

"You and Randy, huh?" Roman nudged.

"Shut up." I wasn't going to talk about it and I knew Roman wouldn't push.

"What the fuck did you say that for?" Randy snapped at me the moment we were in class together.

"What? I'm good enough to screw, but not good enough for people to know you screwed me?"

"You know better than that Joey." He spat. "Why are you being like this?"

I let out a laugh.

"Oh, you don't like me this way?" I snarled. "Well, you know what, Randy? I'm glad you don't like it. Because now every time you look at me, every time you witness the way I am, just remember that you helped make me this way." I turned and took one step to Roman's side. "Wash your hands, you pig." I nudged him with my elbow. Roman laughed so loud the whole class probably heard him.

"Joey," Randy was on my other side. "We need to talk."

"Why? You gonna change the restraining order from fifty feet to a hundred?"

"Never mind."

I just didn't want to talk to him anymore. It wasn't fair or right that I couldn't see my kid. Even hardcore criminals got that much. The only thing I'd ever done wrong was get pregnant.

"Damn it, girl, I'm not going to let you freeze me out."

"Are you scared I might be as good at it as you? You didn't speak to me for a year and a half." I spat.

"I'm trying." He choked. "I really messed up. I should have talked to you. I've always missed you."

"You used me." I hissed.

"No."

I walked up to Roman, grabbed his face and pulled him down to me so I could deliver a kiss that he – and Randy would never forget.

* * *

Please Review.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** The characters in my stories are completely made up characters and have temporally been given borrowed names for the sole purpose of satisfying the qualifications for posting on this fanfiction site. These stories are fiction and should be perceived as such. They in no way reflect the lives, beliefs or views of any persons living or dead and any similarities are coincidental. I am not affiliated with any company or professional wrestler in any way. No disrespect or copyright infringement intended. And if any of my favs happen upon my stories, I hope your not offended because this is not about you, it is about feedback on my story ideas. :) I love and respect what you do and I thank you for all the joy and entertainment over the years.

* * *

I'm going to make a major change in the characters. I will go back and change the rest of the story soon. The character of Roman will now be Seth and Albert will be Roman. I just think Roman will be a better fit for the part now that I've gotten further into the idea. I'm not ready to develop an OC for that part at this time. I hope it's not too confusing and hoping that maybe you will like the change. :D

* * *

Chapter 8

It hurt so much to watch the way Joey was shutting out the world. She was so cold, so unfeeling. I knew she was always tough. She was the calm one who always had a short smart assed remark when it was needed, but only with us. She was quiet around everyone else outside our group. She was still like that, but she wasn't that shy, meek girl who tried her best to be invisible.

She no longer took crap. People at school didn't know what to think of her. Part of me was glad she started standing up for herself, but the other part hated that she had closed her heart. She wouldn't let anyone in. She only laughed with Roman and I really didn't know what the hell that was all about.

The guy seemed to care about her and he was protective over her, always ready to jump in if he thought she'd smarted off to the wrong guy at school.

Her new look got her a lot of attention. Guys who never knew she existed thought she was hot. They wanted to screw her, but I overheard some talk about asking her on a date. I think that was what she really needed. She'd never had one unless you count the picnics I packed for us on long summer days.

She was around all the time at school. She didn't say much to me. Nothing nice anyway. She only snarled and snapped. Even Snort began to think of her as one of us. She was the only girl and she got pissed if the guys picked on someone weak or nerdy. She would smack them in the back of the head and make them pick up the books they knocked down, or give back anything they hijacked, yet she did nothing when the gang picked on the rich, popular kids or jocks. Those kids teased others a lot and even I thought they deserved it.

"Mom." I tried hard not to think about Joey, but I couldn't forget her. I really did miss her and I had never had the nerve to go against what my parents thought was best for Mia.

Mia was turning two and we were all planning a big party for her. Kids from her day care was coming, out of town family planned to make the trip. Everyone just loved Mia. Even Seth. She had her uncle wrapped around her finger and some days I wondered if it was because she looked so much like her mother. Seth did like to pretend a lot. He and Rachel still did role playing, but they mostly read scripts. They didn't act them out anymore, not like we had all done a few years before.

It really hurt when they got together at our house, because they ignored me. They didn't want me to join them or even be in the same room. It was the only taste I got of how Joey was felt. It really started to bug me.

"Look what I found for Mia to wear." My mother came in with a frilly powder blue dress. She always thought Mia looked good in that color.

"Mom, she's going to get hot in that thing." I chastised. "It's going to be ninety outside and we have the bouncy house ordered."

"Oh, just let her wear it for the cake and pictures, then we can take it off." She pulled out a tiara as well. I shook my head. I already knew my daughter wasn't going to be the princess girlie girl my mother wanted her to be. She was just like Joey despite her absence.

"Mom." I thought carefully about the words I was about to say. "I want to get rid of the restraining order."

"What?"

"Mia should know her mother."  
"She doesn't need a mother. She has a grandmother." Who didn't want anyone to take the motherly role from her.

"Mother." I stated boldly. "I think we all judged Joey too harshly and I really feel like shit."

"Don't use that language with me."

"I can't help it. I know I was really young when this stuff happened but I shouldn't have let everyone's anger influence me. This isn't right."

"You were angry too."

"At first, but I was influenced by you a lot too."

"Oh really?"

"Mom you know it's true."

"Have you seen how that girl looks now?"

"There's nothing wrong with how she looks. It's a style. A lot of kids wear it. I wear it."

"Not like that. She's trouble."

"You never used to think that about her." I reminded her. "Her family is trouble. I want her at Mia's party. It wouldn't be right if she wasn't. Besides, all my other friends are coming and she's part of our group."

"Don't tell me you and her are friends again."

"Not like we were. Actually, she barely speaks to me." I sighed. "I hate that."

"No." My mother snapped. "Absolutely not."

"Mia is my child!" I raised my voice to her for the first time in my life. "It's my choice. And I want you to give Joey a chance. What we've been doing is just as wrong as anything she did. She was young too."

"Fine. But I won't bail you out of another mess."

"Vicky." My father walked in the room. "You really have to take a step back on this. Randy was in a state of shock when Mia was born and we just did the best we could with the information we had. We have to let him make decisions now. He's eighteen. An adult and he's always been a good father."

"Okay. I'll try." She relented. But I think she was scared of losing Mia. She was so close to her granddaughter and very proud of her. She thought her coming into our lives was the best thing that could have ever happened.

It didn't take long to get the order dropped. I carried the proof in my pocket. I couldn't wait to give it to Joey, and I really hoped it would brighten her eyes and take away a little of the bitterness she walked around with every day.

I usually walked down the hall way at a slow pace, but I hurried that day, heading straight for the half wall we sat on. When I exited the back doors I noticed that all the guys were standing in a herd around something. I wondered what poor soul they had cornered and was sure Joey hadn't showed up yet. Damn. It made my excitement fade. I couldn't wait to get my girl back. I didn't even realize that was the reason I had lifted the order until that moment. I wanted Joey back and I couldn't do that as long as I kept her away from Mia.

"Look at me girl." I heard the anger in Roman's voice. I pushed through the group and they parted so I could get to my normal spot. Everyone seemed really upset and really angry and when I got to the front of the group, I saw why.

Joey sat on the wall with Roman fussing over her. The entire side of her face was black and blue. Her eye was swollen shut and her lip was split and three times its normal size.

"What happened?" I broke my normal cool silence and stood beside Roman, squatting down and my hand instantly tilting Joey's chin carefully.

"She showed up like this." Roman snarled. "And when we find the guy … he's gonna wish he was never born." He looked to his posse and they all nodded their agreement, pounding their fists against their palms. Those guys may have picked on a lot of kids, but they never beat the hell out of any girl. Ever. And they had all come to like Joey.

Joey reached out and touched Roman's arm and shook her head.

"Your old man did this didn't he?" Roman groaned. "Geeze, Joey." I think I saw the tough guy's eyes tear up and I was doing my best not to let mine fall. "We're going after the jerk. Right now! We're going to your house and …"

"I'll be alright." Joey tried to smile. "She got up so slowly from that wall and she winced as she gathered her books. I watched her walk off. We all did, knowing she wouldn't let us near her if she didn't want us to be. I just leaned on that wall, not really sitting on it and ran a hand over my face.

Roman leaned next to me. "What you did to her was really shitty, man."

"She told you everything I guess?"

"No. People talk. Especially that step mother of hers. She sneaks over to screw my old man."

"Nice." I spat. "Is anyone ever faithful?"

"She didn't try to sell that baby." Roman stared me dead in the eyes. "They tried to steal it from her. Kept her caged up."

"That's too crazy to even believe."

"Really Orton? You find that harder to believe?" He adjusted his jacket on his shoulders and stood. "I haven't known her as long as you have, but I don't believe for a minute that she'd willingly keep you in the dark."

"You're right. You don't know her like I do. So why don't you just back off."

"Yeah, not gonna happen, buddy."

I stormed off. It really angered me that Roman butted into my business. I suddenly saw him as threat. He was my rival and I didn't want to compete with anyone for Joey's heart. How could I win against Roman? Against anyone?

I had to find her. I didn't know where she had gone. She'd disappeared so quickly and time was running out. The homeroom bell would ring and I would have to wait and see if she showed up at the wall at lunch time. Five minutes left – I rushed out the side door. She used to sneak out to the student parking lot and sit behind the big oak at the edge of it. I crossed the parking lot. That wide tree always hid her small frame well.

"Screw school today."

I whirled toward the familiar voice.

"You need a vacation.'

I increased my steps to catch up to the pair walking towards the road.

"Hey!" I wasn't about to let them leave alone. "I got a truck you know?"

"Where are we going then?" Roman asked. His tone didn't show a hint of being pissed that I had joined them.

"Where ever. I don't care." I gazed at Joey. I saw the tears she hid and I just wanted to make it go away. "My house?"

Joey glared, ran her tongue over her lip, gazed at the sky, the shook her head. She turned on her heel and resumed her path to the road.

"Really? You're gonna kick her when she's already down?" Roman snapped and gave my chest a hard shove.

"I did away with the restraining order." I called out to Joey. "It's gone." I pulled the papers out of my pocket.

Joey stopped walking, but she didn't turn around. She crossed her arms over her chest and just stared straight ahead. I took a step but Roman held me back.

"She doesn't need an ex right now – she needs a friend."

It broke my heart to watch Joey place her arms around Roman's neck. It killed me to see him consoling her when I used to be the guy she ran to.

"She's not gonna care." Roman cupped her face in his hands gently. "She's going to be so glad to see you."

"She doesn't know who I am." Joey told him. "I don't want to scare her."

"Kids are really understanding creatures." Roman laughed. "You've waited too long. I'm not going to let this keep you from seeing Mia. You've wanted this so long, Joey."

"I'm not ready, Roman." She stated meekly. "Not right now."

"Okay." He pulled her to him, embracing her, slightly rocking her.

I wasn't sure what to think. I would have thought Joey would jump at the opportunity to see Mia. I didn't think anything would stand in her way. I couldn't understand her decision, when I had handed her everything I thought she wanted.

* * *

Please Review.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** The characters in my stories are completely made up characters and have temporally been given borrowed names for the sole purpose of satisfying the qualifications for posting on this fanfiction site. These stories are fiction and should be perceived as such. They in no way reflect the lives, beliefs or views of any persons living or dead and any similarities are coincidental. I am not affiliated with any company or professional wrestler in any way. No disrespect or copyright infringement intended. And if any of my favs happen upon my stories, I hope your not offended because this is not about you, it is about feedback on my story ideas. :) I love and respect what you do and I thank you for all the joy and entertainment over the years.

* * *

I'm going to make a major change in the characters. I will go back and change the rest of the story soon. The character of Roman will now be Seth and Albert will be Roman. I just think Roman will be a better fit for the part now that I've gotten further into the idea. I'm not ready to develop an OC for that part at this time. I hope it's not too confusing and hoping that maybe you will like the change. :D

* * *

Chapter 9

Roman laid beside me on his bed, hovering over me. His fingertips softly swept a strand of hair away.

"Oh baby," he fussed over my bruises. "I wish you'd let me do something about this."

"What can you do Roman?" I sighed. "Nothing but get yourself arrested."

He touched his forehead lightly against my temple.

"I can't stand seeing you hurt." He growled. "Your father …"

"It wasn't my father." I confessed. "Not this time."

Roman searched my eyes. I know he shocked and even more baffled. It seemed to bother him more that he didn't have a target to be angry at. I couldn't really tell anyone what was going on. I didn't know where to begin.

Randy stormed off that morning. He went back inside the school and I guess back to his normal life. I didn't expect him to understand why I chose not to see Mia that day, even though I really wanted to. I'd wanted it for so long, but I had a problem that day that I would not expose my Mia to or her family. Honestly, I was glad Randy stomped off. He had always been the pushy type. I knew him well enough to know he wouldn't stop until he made me tell him everything. I didn't need that in my life anymore. With Randy, I had learned to hide everything I didn't want to talk about really well. My home life, my father's abuse – everything. I didn't feel like hiding everything. I just wanted to work through it in my own way.

"You know I'm here for you."

"I know."

I grew closer to Roman than I ever imagined I would. I mean the guy used to be my bully and now he was suddenly my best friend. The only true friend I could claim and again I found a place where I felt safe. We went to his house that day. He lived in the trailer park across from mine. I never knew he'd lived that close, but I was glad he did. On really sleepless nights I would crawl out my window and climb through his. And sometimes he would show up at mine.

Roman's father had abandoned him over the summer. He'd just taken off one day and had never returned. Roman wasn't too upset about it. He didn't have to deal with his old man's abuse anymore and the under the table work he got at the pallet yard paid the bills.

Yes, I was sleeping with Roman and had been for some time. Roman had never done one thing to coax me into his bed. It had just happened. It happened pretty quickly. Only a few days after he cornered me in that storage closet at school. He invited me to a bonfire at his house that weekend and I went. I'd had a rough night at home. I snuck out my window and instead of going to the park, I wandered toward the glow of the fire across the highway.

A smile crossed Roman's lips the moment he saw me standing in the tree line watching them. I showed no interest in being there. I couldn't smile and I really wasn't sure what I was walking into. I wasn't even sure what to expect when he approached me and invited me to sit next to him in a double fold out camping chair. The music was blaring loudly and he had to lean close to speak into my ear.

"I only have soda." He said, handing me a Dr. Pepper with an apologetic smile.

"That's all I drink anyway." I laughed. I guess his friends gave him a lot of crap about the lack of alcohol.

"I don't drink either."

"I don't believe you." I took a big gulp. "The big bad bully doesn't get drunk?"

"I swear. I can't stand beer." He threw an arm around me casually and kicked back. I think he did to get comfortable. It didn't seem like a flirtatious or seductive maneuver to me. "I don't mind a shot of whiskey every now and then, but getting drunk isn't fun no matter how much these bozos talk it up."

"Depends on your definition of drunk, I guess." I wasn't convinced.

"Getting sick." He admitted. "Who the hell wants to spend the night puking in the toilet. I did it once. I felt like I was going to die. That was enough for me."

"So you just get buzzed from time to time then."

"Not as much as you're thinking." He gazed. "I've seen too many drunks in my life. I think you have too."

"Don't try to pick me, Roman." I spat. "I'm too smart to give you ammunition to use against me."

"I think the party moved on without us." We looked up and saw we were alone. All Roman's friends had left without a word and neither of us had noticed. "They never stay long unless I find a case or two to keep them occupied."

"Nice friends."

"They're young."

"You're the same age."  
"I don't feel like I am." He sighed. "I need to put this thing out." He crossed his small back yard, picked up a hose and spent a long time extinguishing the fire. I wasn't ready to leave yet, but I stood and stretched.

"I'll see you around." I turned to leave even though I had no intentions of returning home.

"You don't have to go." Roman seemed to know what I was thinking. "You're welcome to hide out here. We can watch some movies or something."

I hesitated.

"Everyone needs a safe place to go."

I wasn't so sure I would be safe behind locked doors, alone with Roman. But a light rain had started and I didn't feel like laying down in the woods like I usually did. I followed him inside. He went to the kitchen first and opened the cabinet.

"I don't have many snacks." He seemed to be apologizing again. "I have crackers, tuna." He pulled a tube from a box and a can of tuna fish, then opened the fridge. "I have a block of cheddar and half container of cottage cheese."

"You're joking?" I leaned against the counter, crossed my arms over my chest and watched him prepare the tuna salad the way he liked it.

"You like this stuff?"

"Yeah." I gasped. "I thought I was the only one with weird cravings."

"The delicacy of the poor." He chuckled. "Do you like onions?"

"Love them."

He opened a container and poured in a few diced onions. He must have eaten onions in everything. Most people didn't have a container of already cut onions in their fridge.

"What do you think?" He scooped some of the concoction on a cracker and popped it into my mouth without a warning. I barely got it all in and I had to catch it with my hand. "Edible?"

"Yeah." I answered with a full mouth and laughed. Roman had a way of making me laugh that night and that was a pleasant surprise.

"You eat like a pig." He teased me, then carried the snack back across the living room and went through a door. I stood in the door frame as he flopped down on the bed.

"I don't bite." He insisted, flipping on his television.

I slowly entered the room. Slipped off my shoes and sat Indian style on his bed, keeping a big distance between us on that queen sized bed.

"I made the snacks." He spoke casually. "I'm not putting the movie in the player too." He nodded toward a box on the floor. "I don't have cable so you'll have to see what you can find."

"A chick flick?" He groaned and rolled his eyes. But I didn't miss the twinkle in his eye and the smile when he gazed back at me.  
"I like rom coms." I shrugged. "And I haven't seen this one."

"You've never seen 50 First Dates?"

"I'm not allowed to watch TV at home."

"Brutal." He handed me a prepared cracker. I popped it in my mouth, then took the fork out of his hand and dipped it in the cottage cheese. It was weird. I didn't mind sharing a fork with him.

"That looks good." I commented. We didn't say much as we ate and watched the previews.

"I think I have that one."

"Ugh! I can't eat anymore." I had eaten more than I ever remembered eating before. I think it was the first time I ever felt full in my life. My stepmother liked to ration food. Well my food. She gave me exactly one cup of bland cereal in the morning and filled an old orange juice bottle half way with milk. I didn't' eat lunch at school because they never gave me money to and they refused to fill out the application for free lunch. And at dinner, if I wasn't being punished for something, I usually had a boiled chicken leg and a piece of bread. I didn't dare ask for anything else or second helpings because Pam would lose her mind. She would scream at me and said seeing the extra pounds I carried made her sick to her stomach. I didn't think I was fat, but she always saw something jiggle when I walked by. Hell, all I ever saw in the mirror was my ribs. But I guess junkies saw all kinds of things.

I watched the beginning of the movie intently, keeping all my attention on it. It really was a rare treat for me to see a movie anywhere. After a while, I relaxed and laid across the bed. I propped up on a pillow and laughed so freely without worrying about irritating anyone. Roman didn't seem to mind the way I laughed and his bed was so comfortable. He had three mattresses piled up with no box spring and it felt like what I imagined a cloud would feel like. But hey, I was a girl who usually slept on the floor or the ground each night.

When the movie ended, it was two in the morning. Roman got up, popped in the movie I had liked the preview for, then returned. He skipped the previews this time and we were watching another comedy that made me laugh. But I was getting tired. My eyes were really heavy.  
"Are you cold?" He flipped back the comforter and we both maneuvered our bodies to get between it. The summer was ending and at that time of year we only felt it at night. Roman didn't have electric heat or a fireplace. It seemed like we each knew the same hardships that other people we knew had never had to worry about. I think that may have played a part in bringing us together.

I snuggled against him that night. I felt warm and comfortable. He moved closer to me, embracing me as we tried to stay awake to watch the movie and after a few minutes I felt him harden.

"I'm sorry." He quickly said the moment he realized I'd felt it. "You're really pretty, Joey."

He pulled away from me respectfully. I turned to face him and stared into his eyes, searching for something mischievous. I gazed for dishonesty and manipulation but I saw nothing that hinted that he'd been planning anything. I laid my head down on the bicep he held behind my head and he laid close to me, one hand on my waist, above the blankets.

I think we both fell asleep because the sound of static on his TV woke me. It woke us both. He twisted around to find the remote, turned off the television and laid back down. That's when our eyes met and our lips just leaned into each other. I didn't think about anything but how wonderful it felt to be touched that way.

The sun was rising when we were finished and I sat up, intending to leave.

"Don't go." He pulled me back. "Lay with me a little while."

We were together a lot after that, but not every time we were together. Sometimes we just fell asleep next to each other. It just felt right and I loved the way it felt to lay naked beside him. He had been working out a lot and had developed firm abs, but I had liked him the way he was before too. He really wasn't as mean as he tried to be. He was always sensitive and sweet to me. He never once told me he loved me, but Roman didn't have to say those things to me. I could see it in everything he did.

What I liked most was the way he didn't have to label our relationship. He didn't have to broadcast it. Didn't feel the need to show it off and neither did I. We never hid it either. We did what we wanted, when we wanted to. No matter where we were.

* * *

Please Review.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** The characters in my stories are completely made up characters and have temporally been given borrowed names for the sole purpose of satisfying the qualifications for posting on this fanfiction site. These stories are fiction and should be perceived as such. They in no way reflect the lives, beliefs or views of any persons living or dead and any similarities are coincidental. I am not affiliated with any company or professional wrestler in any way. No disrespect or copyright infringement intended. And if any of my favs happen upon my stories, I hope your not offended because this is not about you, it is about feedback on my story ideas. :) I love and respect what you do and I thank you for all the joy and entertainment over the years.

* * *

Thanks for all the reviews guys. Love reading them all. :D

* * *

Chapter 10

I drove to Joey's. I had never gone to her home before. In all the years we'd been friends, she'd never invited us to hang out there. Pulling into the drive way I could understand why. There was junk piled everywhere outside her home. Tires, trash, boxes. There was an old rusted car sitting in the back yard. Discarded beer cans littered the yard. It was an eye sore in the middle of an already dilapidated looking neighborhood.

I gazed at the old trailer through my sunglasses as I stepped out. I didn't mean to wrinkle my nose but the stench hit me unexpectantly. I walked up a small set of rotten and broken porch steps, stepped over a pile of rusted metal and knocked on the tin door.

A frizzy haired blonde opened the door wearing a bra and a holy pair of cut off shorts. She had beer in one hand and cigarette hanging from her.

"What do you want?" She snarled nastily.

"Is Joey home?"

"Cal!" she yelled out in response. The same redheaded man that had dragged Joey from the park hobbled toward the door, leaning on chairs and walls like a crutch. He made tiny spitting noises constantly as he glared at me.

"I'm looking for Joey." I stated a bit firmer.

"Who the hell knows where that whore is." He spat. "She's not my problem anymore."

"Thanks." I turned and headed for my car, confused that the man didn't know where his daughter was nor did he seem to care.

"Last I heard she was shacked up with some guy." Pam shouted at me with a smirk.  
"Thanks." I said disdainfully. The woman loved to cause drama. It entertained her and I'm guessing she got a lot out of my expression. I wasn't able to hide the pain I felt when I thought about Joey being with another guy and I had an idea where she was.

The next trailer I visited was much nicer. The yard was well kept, the trash placed neatly in cans with lids and there were ferns hanging off a covered porch. I knocked on the door and waited. I don't know if my knock echoed or if it was the sound of my heart beating in my ears. I had to knock twice before I finally heard movement inside.

The door swung open and Roman greeted me in his boxers.

"Hey, man. Come on in." He stepped to the side and I entered. "You want a drink?"

"I'm driving."

He let out a tight laugh and tossed me a can from his fridge.

"People from your side of town must think we do nothing but drink around here." He growled. He flopped down on the sofa. "So what's up? You've never showed up at my door before."

"Have you seen Joey?"  
"Yeah." He turned toward a door off to the side. "Hey Jo!"

"I thought you were coming back?" she called back with a laugh.

"Randy's here."

She came out of the room wearing a shirt Roman wore too much. It barely covered her bottom, exposing a pair of black panties when she moved and I don't think she wore anything else.

"Hi Randy." She said happily, taking a seat next to Roman on the sofa and he put his arm behind her on the back of the sofa.

"So, what are you guys playing house now?" I stammered on my words. Joey's hair was wild and knotted. They looked like they had just … I didn't want to accept that could be true. Hell no. Joey and I were supposed to be getting back together.

"We hang out a lot these days." Roman remarked casually like it was no big deal. It was a very big deal. He had my girl in his bed!

"Well, I am getting hungry. I'm going to cook something." Joey excused herself, standing only slightly before Roman pulled her into his lap and playfully nuzzled her neck, making her laugh. "Stop it." She squealed. "What do you want to eat?"

"Whatever you can make out of what we got in there." Roman patted her bottom as she got up again.

WE! WE! I wanted to scream.

"You want to stay for dinner Randy?" Joey invited me like I was just any other friend paying a visit. Damn it. I wasn't just a friend. She should have been flustered. A little nervous that the guy she'd had a kid with was sitting in the same room as the new man she was screwing, but it didn't' seem to bother her at all.

"I – I just came to give you this." I held up an envelope. "An invitation to Mia's birthday – this Saturday."

"I know when her birthday is, Randy." She snapped at me. "What time? I have to work in the morning."

"Around noon." I stated. "You're working now?"

"She's the new grill cook at the truck stop on the highway." Roman stated proudly. "She's a pretty good cook."

"I think I can get off a little early." She said as she moved around the kitchen like it was hers. "We'll be there." She smiled. She really looked pretty when she smiled. The bruises on her face had faded and she seemed so happy. So content and at peace. I had to swallow a lump. It became painfully obvious that I had lost something that could have been wonderful. And I was catching a glimpse of what life could have been like if I had taken her with me that day. I could think about was that damn storm and how it had blown away most of the town – and the girl I loved. I had a vision of her reaching out for me as she was being dragged away, the wind whipping her hair violently. And I hadn't fought to keep her with me.

"I have to go." I couldn't watch anymore. I set the invitation on the chipped coffee table and left. I didn't understand how she could have ran to Roman. How she could have been happy in that tin can home of his when I lived in a nice home. And I had Mia. That should have locked it in. How could she not choose me? How could she be happy living like that? Working and going to school? I know she was helping Roman pay bills. That had to be it. Roman was using her. He was taking advantage of her situation. I knew his father had left town. I knew he had to make it on his own. Having Joey must have made life a little easier for him. He had her body, a live in cook and maid and an extra paycheck. It pissed me off. And I couldn't imagine the two of them really being in love. How could they love each other? They barely knew each other. No. I wouldn't believe it.

Joey showed up at Mia's birthday a little after all the other guests had arrived. She came in quietly and stood to the side respectfully as Mia's cake was placed in front of her. She placed a big present on the floor by her feet and I saw the big smile she had on her face and watched as she wiped a tear away. She looked really good. She wore a tight fitting leather jacket and a black skirt that stopped just above her knee. Of course. Roman stood at her side and gave her a squeeze. She leaned her head slightly against him. I returned my attention back to Mia as she took a really big breath and tried to blow out her two candles. Then she lifted her eyes and her little mouth formed a big O.

"Mama!" She wiggled out her grandmother's lap and ran to Joey who squatted down and received the child that threw herself in her arms. I could see the shock on Joey's face. She hugged that little girl so tightly.

"Oh my goodness." She said through tears as she picked her up. Mia clung so tightly to her. "I can't believe she knows me."

"I've shown her a picture of her mother every day of her life." I whispered, keeping my hands in my pocket.

"Thank you." Joey mouthed to me as she set Mia down on her feet. She squatted. "I have something for you Mia." She said sweetly and showed her the present. Mia tore into the paper excitedly while Roman snapped pictures with his phone.

"Mad!" Mia said so excitedly as she laid eyes on the big doll in the box. "Madda!" she said again about the doll she had seen on TV many times. Of course she couldn't say Maddie but she came close. That doll cost a lot of money and my parents and I had decided it was too much to spend on a two year old. The thing was mechanical and acted like a real baby. "thank you." She gave Joey a big hug.

"Mia, this is Roman." Joey introduced. "This is from him too."

And that really upset me. It seemed to make their relationship so final. So serious. They had both worked to give my child something amazing.

"Thank you! Ro—man"

Roman squatted and accepted the big hug from MY daughter.

"Oh, you're welcome sweetheart."

Ugh! I hated it. My family stood and watched. Seth stood on the wall with a curled up lip and my parents stood beside each other.

"Mommy, can I take this off now." Mia tugged at the frilly blue dress and white stockings. "They itchy."

"Oh, well. That's up to your grandma sweetie." She said lovingly gazing at my mother. "You look so pretty in this dress."

I gazed back at my mother who hugged up to my father. She was smiling! Smiling! When my world was crumbling. I was sure that Joey would come alone and celebrating Mia's birthday would bring us together. I knew Joey well enough to know she would stay longer than everyone else. I knew her well enough to know she would help my mother clean up after the party and I knew we would talk like we used to. I knew I would win her back. Because we had a child together. We had Mia. How could any bond be stronger?

"Can you open it, Ro?" She shortened Roman's name.

"But you have other presents, Mia." Joey reminded her, picked her up and carried her back to the table.

I rushed to the head of that table and Mia's other side. Like I had to move quickly to claim my rightful place beside my daughter. But Roman didn't move. He stayed in his spot respectfully. And he didn't seem upset when my hands crossed Joey's. Or when I laid my hand on her shoulder. We chatted and laughed together at Mia's every reaction to the gifts. And Joey was respectful to my mother. They stood beside each other.

"Well, look at this mess." My mother laughed.

"I'll help you clean. Trash bags still in the same place?"

"No. I think they've been moved a few times. Can you take Mia upstairs for me?" My mother was talking to her like she was her daughter in law. Like she had always been around. It shocked me because my mother was the one who worried the most about Joey coming to that party. "You remember the spare room we had? That's Mia's room now. She has a change of clothes laid out on her bed. I'm going to have to rinse that cake out of that dress right away or it's going to stain. I should have never let Randy get chocolate."

"You know it's her favorite."

"Your favorite, Randy." Joey laughed and scooped up our daughter. "We'll be right back." And I witnessed the wink she gave Roman as she left the room.

"Okay, everyone outside." I called out to all the kids in the room. "The bouncy house is ready!' The rental place had just finally arrived and blown up the large playhouse and I was glad to hear the silence in the house again. The adults walked out to sample my father's grilling and all the sides my mother had prepared.

"Nice party Randy, but I think we're going to head out." Snort and the others from our group approached me. I was kind of shocked they had shown up at all. A kids party wasn't something I figured they'd want to be at.

"You coming Roman?"

"Nah, I'm gonna hang out." He told them and I had a feeling they only came because of him and Joey. They were the ones they surrounded at school. It wasn't surprising. I just hung out. I didn't say too much to anyone. Roman then knelt, pulled out his pocket knife and cut that doll they'd bought from the package. He had it completely open when Mia came running back down the stairs as fast as her little legs could carry her, dragging her mother along with her.

"Can I play with it now?"

"Here ya go." Roman handed her the doll.

"Let's leave this stuff with Daddy." He said when she reached for the few accessories. "You don't want to lose it in the bouncy house on the first day."

"Okay!' and Mia was heading for her grandmother's hand to go outside and play.

"She's so happy, Randy. You've really done a good job with her." Joey placed an arm around Roman.

"Well, she looks just like you." I managed. My throat hurt from the lump that wouldn't go down. Their relationship was killing me and Joey had no clue. They weren't just serious. They had a grown up relationship. A mature relationship. It wasn't kid's stuff like ours had been and I couldn't understand it. I wanted to kick them out. I wanted to scream at them to go and never come back, but I knew I couldn't do that to Mia. As I sat outside in a lounge chair that night watching them sitting on the porch swing with Mia sleeping peacefully on Joey's shoulder as they rocked and talked softly, I was jealous and I started to regret doing away with the restraining order. Damn it, I had only done that to get Joey back. If I knew she wouldn't come back to me, I probably wouldn't have done it.

* * *

Please Review.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** The characters in my stories are completely made up characters and have temporally been given borrowed names for the sole purpose of satisfying the qualifications for posting on this fanfiction site. These stories are fiction and should be perceived as such. They in no way reflect the lives, beliefs or views of any persons living or dead and any similarities are coincidental. I am not affiliated with any company or professional wrestler in any way. No disrespect or copyright infringement intended. And if any of my favs happen upon my stories, I hope your not offended because this is not about you, it is about feedback on my story ideas. :) I love and respect what you do and I thank you for all the joy and entertainment over the years.

* * *

Thanks for all the reviews guys. Love reading them all. :D

* * *

Chapter 11

"Hi, Joey." I stood in line for lunch that day. I usually didn't waste money on lunch, but I was starving that day. I saw Rachel behind me but it surprised me that she spoke to me.

"Hi."

"Are you with Roman?" Behind her Seth growled.

I let out a laugh and took the tray with two slices of pizza.

"It's really irritating when people ask questions they already know the answer to." I paid for my choices and walked to a nearby table where Roman was already sitting. We sat in a corner, alone, eating from the same tray and talking like we were just friends. Like we always did. Our friendship was the base of everything. Everything else just fell into place. To be honest I was the happiest I had ever been in my life.

"I'm working all night." Roman told me casually. "Well till about 3."

"Building pallets all night sounds fun." I gave him my normal sarcastic understanding. I never got upset at him for anything. I wasn't one of those needy girls that needed my man's attention constantly.

"Actually I'm working in the shop."

"That's great." I knew he'd wanted to try welding. He'd talked about some of the things he'd like to make with the tool.

"Bob's going to teach me the basics and show me how to do some simple fixes."

"I thought you had to be certified."

"Yeah. That's why I'm doing it after hours." He sighed then. "They're going to teach me but, I have to be certified. They said all I have to do is know how to weld to take the test, but there's this class I want to take to be sure I know enough. I don't want to fail this test and mess up this job. It's really good money."

"So you're going to school at night, school all day and then working at the pallet yard? That's a lot babe."

"I know."

I touched his hand. He was a determined man. Despite our age, I couldn't see him as just a kid at school or another boy. He was mature. He'd matured so much more since the days I had known him as a bully. He really didn't do much of that anymore.

"Maybe, we could enroll in the adult ed classes?" I wondered out loud.

"You mean drop out?"

"It's not dropping out. It's still a diploma only – quicker. I've been thinking about it and I talked to councilor about it once. I don't really want to spend another year in high school."

"I think I know why." He laughed. "You want custody of Mia?"

"I would love that." I sighed.

"That lawyer guy you talked to seemed to think you could win."

"What?" Suddenly Randy was at our table. In our faces. "I can't believe I'm hearing this. What the hell Joey? I let you see her and now you want to take her?"

"Randy." I wiped my mouth and stood. "If it wasn't for my father Mia would be with me and you would be the one having to fight for visitation. No one ever asked for my side of the story. You stole Mia."

"You're an ungrateful b …" Randy got in my face, raising his voice. Roman stood then. He always stood back when Randy and I talked about Mia but Randy had clenched his fists, issuing a threat.

"Randy, I want my baby." I sighed. "But, I can't help the past and how it turned out. I don't want to take her away from the home she knows. I won't upset her life like that. All I want is visitation rights. I want to be able to pick her up for the weekend, maybe some time in the summer. I want to be able to go to the school and have lunch with her. I want to be a full time part of her life. I'm hoping that I don't have to fight you to do that."

"Oh." Randy relaxed and Roman took a step back. "Well, I have no problem with that."

"I'm glad. Fighting would just cost more and I'd rather spend that extra money on Mia."

"Where are you going to take her? To that trailer?"

"It's clean, Randy. Just because it's a trailer doesn't mean its …"

"No I mean. It's still technically Roman's fathers. He can come back anytime and … no offense Roman … the guy is unstable."

"I agree with you man. But my old man isn't coming back."

"We don't need lawyers to make this arrangement." Randy suggested.

"I would rather have it on paper."

"We can go to family court together. We don't have to hire lawyers or anything. But I don't want her at your place until it really is your own place. I don't want her near any alcoholic abusive father. Yours or his." He nodded at Roman.

"Fine." I sighed. "I understand that."

"You could always spend nights with her at my house."

I think most guys would have gotten mad about the suggestion, but Roman just stood back. Listening and I think I saw him roll his eyes.

"Randy, I'm not fourteen anymore. I know better than to walk into one of your set ups."

"You act like I couldn't have possibly loved you because we were young back then." He spat. "Joey I still love you."

"Love is a lot more than having sex." I told him. "You confuse the two."  
"I never did that."

"Really? Because I haven't seen it. You say I love you. You've said it recently. You've told me how much you cared then, but it's just words. I thought you were my friend, but when it came down to the real test, you were a coward. I guess you just didn't love me that much, right?"

"Joey." He whined. "That's not true. You know that's not …"

"What, because you were young? We're still young. But I'm not using my age as an excuse. You're the one who's had a child to raise all this time, Randy. It seems you'd have grown up a lot more than you have." I grabbed my purse and threw it over my shoulder. "I need a real man. Not a boy."

"In other words you're choosing him over your child?" He accused.

"How dare you say that?"

"That's what you're doing. You know I want to be with you and you still choose to be with Roman. What kind of mother would do that?"

"I'm not a bad mother just because I'm not in love with my child's father." I said sadly. "And it's horrible that you would use Mia to get what you want. If you had thought like that when she was born, we wouldn't be where we are now, would we?"

I was quiet the rest of the day. I went to work after school, then came home late to an empty home. I wasn't hungry and I couldn't sleep. Did loving Roman really make me a bad mother?

* * *

Please Review.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** The characters in my stories are completely made up characters and have temporally been given borrowed names for the sole purpose of satisfying the qualifications for posting on this fanfiction site. These stories are fiction and should be perceived as such. They in no way reflect the lives, beliefs or views of any persons living or dead and any similarities are coincidental. I am not affiliated with any company or professional wrestler in any way. No disrespect or copyright infringement intended. And if any of my favs happen upon my stories, I hope your not offended because this is not about you, it is about feedback on my story ideas. :) I love and respect what you do and I thank you for all the joy and entertainment over the years.

* * *

Thanks for all the reviews guys. Love reading them all. :D

* * *

Chapter 12

What did I do? I sat on my bed that night and everything I had said. Everything I did and everything I had been thinking come down on me like a ton of bricks. How could I expect Joey to just fall back into my arms after nearly two years of ignoring her? Of course she had fallen out of love with me. Of course she wasn't interested. I had abandoned her when she needed me the most.

I was hurt that I had lost her. I guess I never thought that in all the time we were apart. And I know I deserved it. I had never done a damn thing to win her back. I should have asked her out on a date. I should have busted into her home and stole her from that mean old man that beat her continuously. I could have offered her a life. I could have given her and my baby a good life. But instead I acted like a spoiled brat who was used to getting what he wanted.

Joey wouldn't even look at me. We went to the court house. We made our agreement and she came and took Mia with her on Saturdays. Those were the days I felt the worse. Instead of having a day with my girls, I ended up sitting alone with too much free time.

"I want Mama." A month later, Mia was sick. She had a fever, a cough and an earache. The doctor said she would be fine, but she was inconsolable. "I want Mama."

"Maybe we should call Joey." My mother said. She'd tried everything to comfort Mia but nothing was working. Her little ears were hurting her. She wouldn't eat. It tore at all our hearts. She'd never been so sick before.

"Joey doesn't have a phone." I sighed.

"I want Mama." Mia moaned and cried constantly so I got in my truck and went to find Joey.

I heard giggling inside the trailer when I stepped up to the door. I guess I was about to interrupt their intimate game. I knocked and I heard Joey squeal out and a round of heavy footsteps running. The answered the door together, laughing.

"Randy?" Joey couldn't stop laughing even after laying her eyes on me.

"Mia's sick." I told her and her face turned pale instantly. "She wants you."

"Let me get dressed."

She wasn't wearing much and my eyes did follow her as she rushed to put on a pair of jeans under her tee shirt.

"I'm sorry." She stopped long enough to give Roman a gentle good bye with her hand on his cheek and kiss. "Raincheck."

"No problem girl." I know Roman's smile was forced. I'd heard the two didn't spend a lot of time together those days. They'd both left school and enrolled in online courses. They picked up full time jobs and Roman was studying something at night on top of trying to earn his diploma. I never knew the guy could be so determined. I guess being with Joey had done that for him. He wanted to be a better man and honestly, they both inspired me.

Joey looked great sitting shotgun in my truck. It had been a long time.

"I can't believe you still have this thing." She commented, but I could see the worry in her eyes.

"The doc said it's just a cold and a little ear infection." I tried to ease her worries. "She's just not happy with anything we do." She nodded. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"You always were a bad liar Joey."

"Roman signed up with the military." She sighed. "He's going to boot camp over the summer."

"But he hasn't graduated yet."

"We'll both be done in a couple months." She sighed.

"Boy, you two really move fast at everything."

She laughed.

"We're just trying to get to a goal."

"What goal is that?"

"To live comfortably. You know get us a nice house. We just want enough to pay the bills the minute they come in."

"You'll get there." I tried to be a friend to her. That's what the whole thing had been about anyway. Saving the friendship. Too bad I had to be an idiot and screw it all up.

"What's she doing here?" Seth growled the minute we stepped inside. "It's not Saturday."

"I think you popped one too many steroid pills today, Seth." Joey snapped back. "Those things are making you mean. You need to stop." I saw the same girl she had always been. She'd cared about all her friends. She cared about people and she reached out and laid an understanding hand on Seth's shoulder.

I never saw it coming. Seth snatched her hand, shoved it off then delivered a hard slap to her cheek, knocking her to the floor.

"What the hell, Seth!" I dropped to my knees, helping her into a sitting position.

"I thought you'd learned your lesson last time bitch. I don't want your kind of friendship."

"It was you." I was fuming. "You're the one …" I tackled him. I didn't care if he was my brother or not. He had no right to lay his hands on Joey. All I could see was that day she'd showed up so beaten up. Those bruises on her face. I'd never seen anyone hurt so badly. And it had been done by my own brother.

My father had to break us apart.

"Why?" I shouted at him. "Why would you hurt her like that? You always claimed to love her man."

"She's trash. She's not good enough for me to associate with and I will put her in her place any time she thinks she has a right to speak to us."

"Us?"

"Rachel and I are a couple and we are far better than you people who pretended you gave a damn about us."

"You know that's not true." I shouted at him. "I think you're high."

"So what? I'm happy. That's what matters." And he stormed out.

"He'll be okay." Joey slowly got to her feet. "It's just the drugs. They're both using. They're trying a lot of different stuff." I saw how much still loved her friends. And I knew she would never stop trying. I wondered how many times she had approached one or both of them.

Joey went up stairs to Mia's room. I went to the kitchen for an ice pack and when I got to Mia's door, I just stood for a moment. She was singing to our daughter and rocking her and soon Mia was asleep snuggled up next to her mother.

"She needs you all the time, Joey." I sighed, walked across the room and gave her the ice pack. "Things really should have been different."

"I think things turn out how they are meant to be." Joey always had a way of accepting things. She really believed in fate. No matter how tough she tried to be. Or how distant she wanted to be, she was always all heart. And the girl had every reason to hate the world.

Joey dozed off almost instantly. I sat down on my bed. I liked the way it looked with both of them sleeping in it. But I wasn't really thinking about that at the moment. I was worried about the bruise showing up on Joey's cheek. She'd hit her head when she fell and I was suddenly afraid she wouldn't wake up.

I crawled into the bed beside her and wrapped my arms around her and Mia. I didn't know what I would do without either of them. They really were my whole world, rather I could call Joey my girl or not. I wanted her to be happy. It was the only thing I wanted. I guess her blowing up at me had caused me to grow up a lot.

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Please Review.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** The characters in my stories are completely made up characters and have temporally been given borrowed names for the sole purpose of satisfying the qualifications for posting on this fanfiction site. These stories are fiction and should be perceived as such. They in no way reflect the lives, beliefs or views of any persons living or dead and any similarities are coincidental. I am not affiliated with any company or professional wrestler in any way. No disrespect or copyright infringement intended. And if any of my favs happen upon my stories, I hope your not offended because this is not about you, it is about feedback on my story ideas. :) I love and respect what you do and I thank you for all the joy and entertainment over the years.

* * *

Thanks for all the reviews guys. Love reading them all. :D

* * *

Chapter 13

I woke up feeling rested. I kissed Mia's forehead. Her fever had broken. I let out a sigh of relief. I don't care if the doctors said she was fine or not. I didn't completely trust their judgment. I didn't feel like it was fine until that fever was gone.

I felt a pair of arms around me. I knew it wasn't Roman. He and Randy were too different. Even though both very gentle. I laid back on the pillow even though I should have gotten out of that bed. I loved my life with Roman, but someone how that felt right too. I guess I still loved Randy and I hated having to leave Mia. And she would beg me to stay every time. It really tore at my heart.

I shifted in the bed. I was completely stuck between Mia and Randy. I didn't want to wake up Mia so I gently stroked Randy's arm.

"I should go." I whispered when he moaned. He still woke up the same way he did when he was a kid. It brought back fond memories of us falling asleep under a tree at the park.

"Please stay." He didn't open his eyes. He sounded so tired. "Mia might look for you."  
I turned to face him in his king sized bed. There was so much room even with the three of us sharing it.

"We should talk." He sighed. "Tell me everything. Please." I never told anyone about the time I had been locked up. I just hated to relive it. "I should have asked a long time ago." I took a deep breath and I finally told him what had happened to me after that night in the park. I didn't want to give him excuses and I felt like that's all it was.

"I never signed the papers. I always told them no." I told him point blank.

"I'm sorry." Randy began to cry openly. The tears fell in streams. I had never seen him break down like that before. "I could have saved you and I didn't. I'm so sorry Joey."

"It's in the past."

"No." he sobbed. "It's not. Because I don't have you because of it."

"We all make our choices."

He was silent for a while, staring at the ceiling, tears streaming down his face until his eyes were swollen.

"Are you really happy with Roman?"

"I'm happier right now than I have ever been in my life." I sighed. "No fighting. No yelling. No one staggering around drunk or high."

"You could have that anywhere."

"You mean with you. Randy all we do is argue. The tension between us is just too much for me to handle. It would be wonderful if I could be with Mia all the time, but it would be selfish to expose her to the fussing and fighting just so I don't have to say good bye to her all the time."

"You've never been selfish, Joey." Randy leaned on his side and gently caressed my cheek. "I'm the only one who has been selfish. I've been angry when I really have to reason to be. We have a past and I should have done something. I should have tried. Now I want to do all those things. I want to take you out. I want to spend time dating, but I'm too late."

"I've always been alone. Now, I'm not. Roman is a wonderful man."

"I can tell you're in love with him and it kills me." He choked back sobs that wanted to start again. "It hurts because I know if I - you would be in love with me."  
"It sounds like you think I only fell in love with the first guy who was nice to me."

"That's what happened."

"No – no."

"Yes. It is. You've been abused all your life and here comes Roman treating you like you should and you're all over him. It didn't matter who it was. You're so blind that you can't see it. But one day I think you're going to wake up and realize that you're not really in love. You're just hooked up with him because he was an easy way for to get out of the bad situation you were in."

I looked up to see Roman standing in the door. I didn't seem angry, but I saw his eyes glaze over.

"Hi." I said cheerfully, moving from the hold Randy had on me. "This isn't what it looks like." I began to apologize. I know how it had to look bad the way I was lying in that bed with Randy. "I fell asleep and …" I couldn't shut up as he crossed the room. I knew I was in love with him then, because at that moment I was terrified of losing him.

"Ro." Mia said the minute she saw him.

"How are feeling Princess?" Roman bent down and kissed her forehead.

"Roman? I – I"

Roman reached out and touched my cheek. "I know." I stopped trying to explain, closed my eyes and nodded. "I thought you might need a ride." He winked. "And I have just enough time for a breakfast date before I head to work."

"Can I go Mama?" Mia cuddled up in my lap.

"I don't sweetie, I think you might be too sick to go out of the house."

"Ah, the fresh air will be good for her. It's not cold out." Roman chuckled. "Randy?" He invited.

"No. Um – If you're off today Joey, maybe you can take care of Mia. I've already missed too many days of school."

"Of course." I did have to work, but I was so happy to be able to take on the role of a true mother with Mia that I didn't care about the day's pay I would lose.

I bundled up Mia and she picked out some toys.

"Whose car did you borrow?" Asked Roman when we walked out and I saw an older model Camaro sitting in the driveway.

"Yours." He tossed me the keys. "It's nothing special but – Happy Birthday babe."

I threw my arms around him. I had never gotten a present for my birthday before. No one even remembered it. It was such a normal thing that I didn't even mention its arrival to anyone.

"How did you know?"

"I snuck into your purse and looked at your license a few months ago. I'm sorry about that."

"I'm gonna have to watch you." I laughed.

"Well, you never told me when it was."

"You never asked."

"If I asked then you would have known I was up to something." He laughed "And I also went ahead and bought a new car seat for Mia. Now you and Randy won't have to deal with moving the one in his truck. It looks like a pain in the ass."

"It is." I laughed then kissed his cheek. "You want to see your new car seat, Mia."

She beamed a big smile. Mia loved to get gifts of any kind.

"Race car seat!" Mia was really excited. I had noticed she was a little bit of a tomboy under the lace and bows her grandmother dressed her in. "Look Mama! I have a steering wheel too."

"You really made her happy."  
"Are you happy with me?" Roman asked. He seemed a little sad.

"You were listening at the door?"

"I couldn't help it."

"Roman. You are not just some guy I moved in with so I could get away from my father."  
"Are you sure? Because I don't want to be the one keeping a family apart."

"Don't.' I stopped him. Sometimes I could see his own insecurities. He tried so hard to hide them, but he had a hard past too. He'd been left by everyone in his life. His mother, his father and he had a whole list of relatives that wanted nothing to do with him because of who his parents were.

"You know, I think I'm going to play hooky today too." He laughed. "I think we can afford one day of fun."

"I think so too."

We spent the day with Mia. She seemed to be feeling so much better. We took her shopping and let her pick out a new toy and some videos. Then we took her to our home and she played for a bit, then climbed up on the sofa with a blanket and watched a movie. But she was worn out from the bug that still haunted her little body.

"I have to tell you something." Roman turned to me and took my hand.

"What is it?"

"I'm leaving for boot camp a little earlier."

"How much earlier?" I wanted to cry. I knew he had signed up so he could better his life – our lives, but I didn't know how I was going to on without him.

"Next week." He sighed. "The Sargent said I continue with school while I'm there. I'm almost done and there is some problems … I'm going to be deployed right after boot camp."

"No." I shook my head. "You're going to war?"

We had a great week together. With what time we had. Roman worked a couple more days at the pallet yard and I wished he would have continued with his welding. Damn I hated the recruiter that had approached him at that grocery store. If he had never told him all those things … told him about all those opportunities, Roman wouldn't be leaving.

I drove him to the bus station. Randy came with Mia and we all stood to say good bye.

"Joey." He took my hands. "I've been dreading this day, but I guess I can't – I'm just going to say it. We're going to be a part for a really long time. Things will happen. Things that might hurt." He gazed at Randy. "I don't want that. I want to remember us how we are now."

"It sounds like you're breaking up with me."

"I am."

"What?" He'd given me no warning. No indication that he wanted to end our relationship. Maybe he was just trying to tell me that he wanted to know if I could handle a long distance relationship. "Roman, I'll wait for you. I don't care how long."

"This is over." He said sternly. Then grabbed his duffle bag. He shook the hand Randy extended. They glared at each other a moment. "Take care of her."

"Roman!" But he didn't look back. Not even when he climbed on the bus. I stood and watched that bus pull away. He didn't glance out the window. Nothing. I crossed my arms over my chest. I couldn't stop crying. I didn't understand and I wasn't ready for it to be over.

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Please Review.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** The characters in my stories are completely made up characters and have temporally been given borrowed names for the sole purpose of satisfying the qualifications for posting on this fanfiction site. These stories are fiction and should be perceived as such. They in no way reflect the lives, beliefs or views of any persons living or dead and any similarities are coincidental. I am not affiliated with any company or professional wrestler in any way. No disrespect or copyright infringement intended. And if any of my favs happen upon my stories, I hope your not offended because this is not about you, it is about feedback on my story ideas. :) I love and respect what you do and I thank you for all the joy and entertainment over the years.

* * *

Thanks for all the reviews guys. Love reading them all. :D

* * *

Chapter 14

"Nothing?" I asked.

Joey shook her head. Ten weeks and the girl still gazed at the phone every time it rang with hope that it would be him calling from boot camp, but he never called her. She wrote him every day at first, then once a week, but she never got a letter from him.

Joey moved in with us shortly after Roman left. My father was seriously injured at work. He couldn't move around on his own and my mother had to go back to work. Joey took care of Mia and my father all day and in the evenings she worked as a grill cook. Somehow in between all of that she managed to finish high school and start earning an online degree as a paralegal. We gave her the apartment above Dad's garage. She was still on her own and didn't have a lot of bills to worry about, but she helped out anyway. I think she just tried to stay busy and keep her mind off of how much she missed Roman

"Maybe he will." I felt bad for her. She stayed faithful even though she was completely free.  
"I thought I would at least get an invitation to the ceremony."

Joey and I went on a couple of dates just to see if there was anything still there, but we figured out that she and I had never been anything but really good friends. The love we thought we had felt as kids was really just exploration. I was still a boy with raging hormones and I know I saw Joey as the perfect girl to explore my curiosities with. I openly admit that I was a manipulative teenaged boy and Joey had been vulnerable. She needed a gentle touch and to feel loved, something she'd never gotten at home.

We spent so much time together and there was no way to ignore the truth. We were friends. There was nothing else there. Not anymore. I would remember her as my first love and the mother of my child. But we would never be more, still I planned to marry her. I was going to ask her because Joey needed someone in her life. She needed a family and I couldn't bear the thought of her falling for some guy that may abuse her.

"I think I'm going to drive down there anyway." She finally blurted out. "It's only a few hours away."

"But you don't know what day or when?"

"Sara at work's son is at the same boot camp. I'm going with her."

"He's going to be shocked."

"He's going to have to face it." Joey laughed. "He's trying to hide but I know he didn't want to end it. I saw it in his eyes. He was just scared."  
"I think he wanted to give us a chance to be a family. He told me he thought he was standing in the way. He said that if he had never been in that class that you and I would have gotten together."

"It would have ended up like it is now."

"You still want to marry a friend?" I laughed. "Can you live like that?"

"I won't be unfaithful. Even if Roman comes back." She told me. "I'm never going to love another man. I don't want to. So being with my best friend is the next best thing. We have Mia. No other man is going to understand our situation and allow me to be so close with you and your family. I love this family. I felt this way as a kid too."

Joey had forgiven everything. I don't know if I could have been so kind. And every time I thought about it I wondered how any of us could have thought it was true. Joey had been in and out of our home for years. I guess our mind was clouded with all the bad things that could have happened to that innocent child. I know that was my parent's thinking, but I really should have known better. I knew her better than anyone. I still did and I knew her heart was broken.

"Well, I'll take the day off." I agreed. "You go and do what you have to do, but I need to know something soon because if you and Roman are not getting back together I'm going to ask this girl at work out."

"You should ask her anyway."

"I'm only willing to put in the time if I have to." I laughed. Honestly, being in a real relationship was just too much work. I found most women were really hard to keep happy and jealous. And then I had the same problem. Who would accept the role Joey played in my family?

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	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer:** The characters in my stories are completely made up characters and have temporally been given borrowed names for the sole purpose of satisfying the qualifications for posting on this fanfiction site. These stories are fiction and should be perceived as such. They in no way reflect the lives, beliefs or views of any persons living or dead and any similarities are coincidental. I am not affiliated with any company or professional wrestler in any way. No disrespect or copyright infringement intended. And if any of my favs happen upon my stories, I hope your not offended because this is not about you, it is about feedback on my story ideas. :) I love and respect what you do and I thank you for all the joy and entertainment over the years.

* * *

Thanks for all the reviews guys. Love reading them all. :D

* * *

Chapter 15

"I don't see him." I searched the flanks of soldiers standing on that grass.  
"There's so many. I can't even see which one is my kid." My co worker Sara giggled. "They all look alike don't they?"

They looked like full grown toy soldiers to me. All of them the same. Same uniform. Shaved heads and all wearing the same white cap. Roman had always had long hair. I really couldn't' imagine what he would look like with it cut off. I really wished he still had it, that way I could point him out.

"Are they going to say their names or something?" Sara asked. The ceremony was short. They gave out a few medals but other than that they didn't give out a certificate or anything individually. They dismissed them and we rushed from the bleachers with a small crowd to get to our loved ones. Sara's son waved madly. I kept walking. I didn't see Roman anywhere. I found a guy from the podium.

"Reigns?" He asked then looked to the soldier next to him. "I don't think we have anyone by that name at boot camp right now."  
"But this is where he said he was going."

"Maybe Knots can help you." He called to a woman wearing a skirt instead of pants. She walked over and smiled politely. He gave her the name I had asked him about and then I followed her a long way to the building behind the ceremony. She punched a few things in the computer.

"No, no one here by that name. Maybe he got the bases mixed up. There are several …"

"No he wouldn't have gotten them wrong. If this is where he said he was going he must be here."

"I'm sorry maam. He's not with this platoon."

"Can you tell me if he is at another camp?"

"Maam, I can't tell you anything more. Only that he is not here. If he is somewhere else, I won't be able to give you that information."

"Well," I know Randy saw the disappointment on my face the minute I walked through the door.

"He wasn't there."

"Huh?"

"He wasn't there and they have no record of him being there."

"Maybe he never enlisted." Randy said after a moment of thinking.

"Why would he say he did if he didn't?"  
"I don't know, Joey." Randy sighed. "But if he did they would have told you what base he was at."

"It all seemed so secretive to me. I mean one minute they were willing to help me find him and the next they couldn't tell me anything. If he never signed up wouldn't they have told me he wasn't in their system?"

"I don't know."

"She said she couldn't tell me anything. If he wasn't a part of the military they would have said so."

"I think you're making more of this than it is."

"Maybe something happened to him. And they're covering it up."

"That's only in the movies. They would have notified someone."

"His father." I groaned. "And he's who knows where and probably wouldn't think to tell anyone here."

"I don't want you thinking the worse, Jo." Randy consoled. "I know you. You're going to drive yourself crazy. Joey, he didn't go. Okay. He lied to you for who knows what reason. He's moved on."

"Oh, you would love for that to be true." I jumped off the couch and screamed at him. "Then you wouldn't have to worry about him coming back and ruining your plans!"

"Damn it Joey will you listen to yourself? That man has always been deceitful. I thought he had changed too, but all he did was put on a really good act. That's it."

"I don't want to believe that." I cried. "I mean why that? Of all the things he could have said – why that?"

"I guess it just seemed to be the easiest way."

"Men are such assholes!" I spat. "Every one of you!"

But I managed to go on. I even managed to stop thinking about Roman so much. Only at night did his memory haunt me. Our time together had been so wonderful. I couldn't find a single memory that hinted that he was going to take off someday. I wanted to hate him for hurting me, but I just couldn't. I guessed I would always love him.

"Mia, wait on Mama." I called out to my daughter. She was getting so big and we were about to celebrate her fourth birthday. Boy, time sure went by quickly. Randy and I still talked about getting married but it was usually just talk. He always brought up the subject after going on a date that didn't turn out like he'd hoped. His longest relationship lasted about three months and to be honest I hated Kelly. Mia didn't care for her much either. She was a snobby rich girl who never worked a day in her life. She didn't want anything to do with work. I think she actually screamed a little when we asked her to help in the kitchen after dinner. Luckily, she stopped talking to Randy after that dinner. I guess seeing how hard his life was sent her running. She sure wasn't the type who would help take care of a man who could no longer stand up without a little help.

"Mia!" I called out. I juggled the cake and decorations and I just couldn't get her to listen. She'd been a handful. Willful, always upsetting her grandmother by purposely climbing trees in her nice dresses. Finally, we just had to convince her that Mia was happier in her jeans and cowboy boots. Lord, none of us could get her to wear anything but those boots. Didn't' matter what she had on, those boots were on her feet.

"Mia, you can't play on the swing right now. You have to get ready for the party."  
'But I want to play."

"Mia listen to your mother!" Randy came out of the house to help with the groceries I had bought for his mother who had to work that morning.

"I still have to get the subs done and start the prep work for mom's salads." I worried. I was so exhausted and I had no idea how I was going to get it all done by the time the party started. Everything was usually done the day before. But we had all had so much to do.

"It's going to be fine. It never takes mom too long to put this stuff together. I'll help you peel the potatoes. As long as they are cooked and the pasta is cooked, it will all be fine."

"It's not going to be cold."

"We'll put them in the freezer." Randy laughed. "Joey, relax. It doesn't have to be perfect."

"Yes, it does." I had to have everything perfect where Mia was concerned.

"Joey James?"

I had my head in the hatch of my car gathering items that had rolled out of a bag when my name was said in a strict manner. I turned my head to see a man in a dress fatigues.

"I'm Joey James." I said, standing straight and facing him. "Can I help you?"

He stood very tall and erect. He handed me a paper.

"It is my duty to inform you that Roman Reigns has been reported M.I.A. I am very sorry." I was left staring at a yellow envelope.

"But two years ago you had no record of him." I said. I didn't want to open it. "And why would this come to me?"

"You are listed as his next of kin, maam."

"Where is he? Where was he?"

"That's classified information maam."

"Classified? You can tell me you have no idea where he is – if he's okay – if he's alive or dead, but you can't tell me where he was supposed to be."

"I am sorry maam." Then he did an about face and left the yard.

"Oh, Joey." Randy pulled me into his embrace. It had been two years and I still hadn't learned how to stop loving Roman. I don't know what I would have done without Randy's friendship."

"I think I was happier when I thought he lied and left me." I cried. I had to be strong. I knew Roman would want that. I also knew that I was still important to him. Why else would he have put my name down on his forms? "We should get things ready for the party."

"Are you sure you're up for doing all of that?"

"I have to. Besides. Roman is okay." I took a deep breath. "I know he is. He's tough and strong and he's smart."

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	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer:** The characters in my stories are completely made up characters and have temporally been given borrowed names for the sole purpose of satisfying the qualifications for posting on this fanfiction site. These stories are fiction and should be perceived as such. They in no way reflect the lives, beliefs or views of any persons living or dead and any similarities are coincidental. I am not affiliated with any company or professional wrestler in any way. No disrespect or copyright infringement intended. And if any of my favs happen upon my stories, I hope your not offended because this is not about you, it is about feedback on my story ideas. :) I love and respect what you do and I thank you for all the joy and entertainment over the years.

* * *

Thanks for following along with my creative mess. LOL. This is the last chapter. It didn't go how I originally saw it going, but that happens as we write. I'm not sure about what or when I'll work on a new story. I have no new ideas at the moment. Until Next time - Love Ya!

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Chapter 16

They told Joey that she needed to accept the fact that Roman was gone. It took five years before they finally told Joey that there was no hope. They wouldn't give her any information about what he had been doing or what they thought may have happened to him but those words seemed so final. Like they knew Roman was dead, but they couldn't tell her how they knew. The only new information they gave her was that he was part of a special mission. Nothing specific. Just that it wasn't a normal combat situation and Joey would be given compensation for that.

"I don't want you're damn money!" Joey had screamed at them. "It doesn't make anything better! He's still gone!"

Still they sent the check. Joey put it in Roman's bank account along with the rest of his money. All of which he had listed her as the beneficiary. She never touched any of it. She didn't want it and she cried even harder when she found out that he had opened an account for Mia. He was saving money for her college, putting money in it long after he had left home.

It was hard. I wished Roman had never decided he wanted Joey in his life. Why couldn't he have just remained that bully that teased her? I hated to see her in pain like this. If Roman had left her alone she wouldn't be mourning him every day.

"So, are you going to marry me or what?"

I was sick of looking for a decent girl. I was sick of trying to blend a new life with the old. I was content with my life. I really didn't want it to change.

"Yeah, I'll marry you." I think Joey was holding out for Roman. Now that she was sure he was never coming back she had nothing to hope for. And she didn't want to fall in love like that again.

Joey and I did love each other. Even though it wasn't romantic or intimate. I knew we would be intimate once we were married. I knew we would be a happy little family. What's better than marrying your best friend anyway? We had a lot of fun together. We worked out life's complications together. That's what counts, right?

I saw him before Joey. I was on my home from work and I saw this tall man walking down the sidewalk with a duffle bag hoisted on his shoulder. I probably would have driven by but there was just something familiar about him. I slowed and rolled down my window. He turned to face me. His beard was straggly and overgrown. His hair was dull and stringy.

"Want a ride?"

"Sure." His tone was a cold, deep growl.

"Where ya heading?"

"Home." He stated.

"And where is that these days?"

"Summerton place."

I pulled into the drive way of a home in a new subdivision. It wasn't anything fancy. A one level ranch style with a garage. It was painted a pretty pale blue with white shutters. The grass was overgrown, the hedges needed trimming. It was obvious this place hadn't seen its owners in a long time.

"When did you buy this?"

"A long time ago." He growled.

"You bought it for her."

"I guess you two are – married now." He growled, staring at me with ice in his eyes. Something in him was different. Very different. "Don't worry. I'm not staying in town. I'm just going to sell this place and I'll be on my way."

"How are you going to get out of town without seeing her? You left her everything. You have to see her sort that out."

"I'm not taking anything from her." He scowled. "Don't worry. The military won't want anything back. Come with the job. And she never knew about this place. It was in my lawyer's holding the whole time."

"Why did you buy it?"

"So she'd always have a home – no matter what. Go home to your wife – Orton." He growled.

I wanted to be selfish. I wanted to keep my mouth shut. Go to that court house and make my life easier. I was still that boy who wanted my best friend all the time and didn't want to share her with anyone.

But I guess fate had different plans.

Joey stopped in the middle of the street, stopping traffic. People blew their horns and cursed, but she didn't move. The man she stared at turned toward the commotion. He was about to climb into the back of an unmarked black SUV. His eyes lingered, then he turned away. He shut the door and the SUV backed out. It drove a few feet and stopped at a stop sign.

"I must be seeing things." She got out of the middle of the road and stood by me at the stop sign. We were about to go into the court house. "No." She shook her head. "No!" She took off running for that SUV as it turned and started away. The brake lights came on. The man stepped out of the vehicle and caught her as she tossed herself into his arms. Their lips fell into a passionate kiss and I smiled. They were meant to be together.

XXX

"I'm sorry boys. I've changed my mind." Roman stated, then pulled a duffel bag out of the back seat. He placed an arm around my shoulders and we walked back to where Randy stood.

"It's about the time you came home." He laughed and gave me a wink.

"Where were you?" I was mad at him then. "I went to the base and they said you were never there."

"I wasn't." Roman admitted. "I mean I did go there, but only to climb on a helicopter and go to another training facility."

"Why did you break up with me? And I want the truth." I just had to know.

"Because I signed up for something that would make sure we never had to worry about anything ever again. They called it a suicide mission Joey. And every thing I did if I survived was the same."

"You asshole!' I screamed at him. "How could you do that?"

"Because I love you!" he screamed back at me. "Damn it! I love you and I was tired of watching you struggle. You deserved better than the life you had to live and it was worth anything to make sure you never had to again."

"By dying?"

"If I had to."

"I would have rather lived in a cardboard box than live all this time without you." I sobbed.

"I made it through all their missions." He smirked. "That's how much I love you. Seeing you again is what kept me alive. No one could touch me."  
"But you were going to leave."

"Yeah." He admitted. "I thought you were happy."

"Now, I am completely happy." I kissed him. "I just hope you don't mind living with Randy."

"I'm not into sharing baby."  
"Whoa! Hold up!" Randy threw up his hands. "Joey and I are not like that."

"Yeah, that's why you're on your way inside the courthouse and Joey's wearing a white dress."

"That – that was when I thought I would never love again." I told him. "Because I could never love anyone as much as I love you."

"We're only going to be friends." Randy laughed. I explained everything to Roman that had happened since he'd been gone. He found it all so funny.

"Girl you are crazy." He couldn't stop laughing. But finally, we were all where we should be. And Randy finally opened up enough to let a woman have a real chance at loving him and understanding his life. He married Julie the following year and she and I are as close as sisters.

I guess love stories never end the way you think they will, but as long as its happily ever after, it doesn't matter.

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